The government has approved in principle a proposal to purchase 2.8 million tonnes of refined fuel oil without tender for 2026, citing urgent national requirements and public interest.
The approval for purchase through Direct Procurement Method (DPM) came at a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs held on Wednesday, chaired virtually by Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed.
According to officials, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) has been importing half of the country’s total fuel demand through government-to-government (G2G) arrangements and the rest through open international tenders since 2016.
For 2026, BPC proposed importing 1.91 million tonnes of gas oil, 390,000 tonnes of Jet A-1, 175,000 tonnes of gasoline (octane), 300,000 tonnes of furnace oil, and 30,000 tonnes of marine fuel—amounting to 2.805 million tonnes in total.
The import will be made under the Direct Procurement Method (DPM) in line with Section 68(1) of the Public Procurement Act 2006 and Rule 76(2) of the Public Procurement Rules 2008. The committee granted policy approval to the proposal.
Currently, BPC sources fuel under G2G deals from 10 companies across eight countries.
Direct Purchase of E-Passport Materials Also Approved
At the same meeting, the committee also approved the direct purchase of one crore (10 million) e-passport raw materials, 5.7 million advanced e-passport booklets, and training services from Germany’s Veridos GmbH, the existing contractor for Bangladesh’s E-passport and Automated Border Control Management Project.
Officials said the project’s current stock of materials will meet production needs until December 2026. However, new procurement is required well ahead of 2027 to avoid disruptions.
The Home Ministry informed the committee that switching service providers could complicate operations due to the project’s advanced technological nature. It, therefore, recommended continued procurement from Veridos GmbH under the DPM, a proposal that received the committee’s nod.
The ongoing project, which runs from July 2018 to June 2028, was first revised and approved by ECNEC on November 9, 2023. The new procurement will cost Tk 1,692.33 crore.
Under the original 2018 contract, each passport booklet was priced at €7.359 and the raw material at €5.990. The new proposed rates are €8.540 per booklet and €6.980 per unit of raw material.