The government has decided to cancel the Public Private Joint Venture between state-owned Eastern Refinery Ltd and local ‘controversial’ firm S Alam Group to extend the petroleum products refining capacity styled ‘Installation of ERL Unit-2’ under the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act 2010.
The decision came on Thursday, said ministry of power, energy and mineral resources spokesperson Mohammed Shafi Ullah.
According to the ministry decision, the energy and mineral resources division (EMRD) has asked to the state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) to review the development project proposal (DPP) of ERL-2 considering the latest currency rate and submit it before the ministry of planning as per the public procurement rules-2008.
The S Alam Group has submitted a proposal before then Prime Minister’s Office to build the refinery on an 80-20 equity basis on the ERL’s land in Chattogram last year.
The project for the 2nd unit of ERL was first approved by the government in 2014 under the Quick Enhancement of Electricity and Energy Supply (Special Provision) Act, 2010. In 2013, the project cost was estimated at Tk130.00 billion. Last year, the BPC submitted a proposal to the Planning Commission for approval to implement the project with its own funding, with the project expenditure initially proposed at Tk197.69 billion, which has now increased to Tk 400 billion.
