The advisory committee on government purchase at a meeting on Tuesday approved a proposal to purchase fuel oils at a cost of Tk 1,462 crore from India amid tensions between Dhaka and New Delhi over a series of incidents.
The latest was Dhaka’s decision to shut down the broadcasting of the Indian Premier League after Bangladesh pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman, also known as Fizz, was released by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, following directives by the Indian Cricket Board.
Dhaka has also asked India to sift Bangladesh matches in the forthcoming T20 World Cup to Sri Lanka from India on ground of security of national cricketers.
Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, who presided over the meeting of the advisory committee on government purchase, called the rows over Mustafizur disappointing.
The release of the pace bowler all of a sudden was unfortunate, he said, adding that the fallout of the incident was also unexpected.
There have been diplomatic rows between Bangladesh and India since New Delhi gave shelter to deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina who fled there amid a mass uprising on August 5, 2024.
Salehuddin, however, said that the Mustafizur issue had not put any impact on the procurement of goods from India under the government purchase.
At Tuesday’s meeting, a Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation proposal to import 1.8 lakh tonnes of refined diesel from India’s Numaligarh Refinery Limited for the January-December period at a cost of Tk 1,462 crore was approved.
The import price of a litre of diesel from Numaligarh Refinery in Assam has been estimated at Tk 88 while the average price of a litre of diesel on the international market recently was about $1.24, equivalent to Tk 175.
Responding to questions from reporters about diesel imports from India amid the tensions, energy adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said that the diesel import was being carried out under an agreement signed previously.
‘This is a 15-year contract signed long ago,’ he said, adding that the latest import was part of the contract.
The day’s meeting also approved three more proposals on imports of fuel oils with the overall amount standing at 30.6 lakh tonnes at an estimate cost of Tk 24,150.84 crore.
The imports are to meet the country’s fuel oil demand until June.
The BPC will import 15 lakh tonnes of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for state-run Eastern Refinery Limited at a cost Tk 11,863 crore.
It will import 13.80 lakh tonnes of refined fuel oils from seven companies from six countries under government-to-government arrangements at an estimated cost of Tk 10,826 crore.
The six countries are India, China, Malaysia, the UAE, Thailand and Indonesia.
