In a significant move to strengthen Bangladesh’s energy security, the government has approved a number of proposals dealing with the purchase of imported LNG and the electricity tariff from the country’s largest coal-based power plant at Matarbari.
To meet growing energy demand, Bangladesh will import three LNG cargoes from the Singapore spot market for the months of May, June, and July 2025. The total expenditure for the imports will be Tk 1,620.05 crore.
The approvals came during a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase, held at the secretariat on Tuesday chaired by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed.
The cargoes will be sourced through competitive bidding. They will carry 33.60 lakh MMBtu of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) each.
Singapore-based Aramco Trading Singapore will supply LNG for May at $11.15 per MMBtu, with a total cost of Tk 534.76 crore, while Gunvor Singapore Private Limited will deliver June’s LNG at $11.27 per MMBtu, costing Tk 540.51 crore. Singapore’s Vitol Asia Private Limited won the bid at $11.3588 per MMBtu, for a total of Tk 544.77 crore for the July delivery.
The LNG will be procured by Petrobangla under a Master Sales and Purchase Agreement (MSPA) framework. All bidders were found to be technically and financially responsive.
Matarbari coal power plant tariff set at Tk 8.4475/kWh
The committee also approved the electricity tariff for the 1,200 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant at Matarbari, implemented by state owned Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCBL). The tariff has been set at Tk 8.4475 per kilowatt-hour.
We are hopeful that other coal-fired power plants will review their tariffs in light of the Matarbari power plant,” Power and Energy Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan told Just Energy News.
The total cost for purchasing electricity from the plant over a 30-year period is estimated at Tk 2,17,004.40 crore, translating to about Tk 7,233.48 crore annually.
The power plant has already begun commercial generation, and all electricity produced will be purchased by the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) under a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The tariff may be revised after the final project cost is evaluated post-implementation in December 2026.
CPGCBL is a fully state-owned entity, and any profit from electricity sales will be recorded as government revenue.
These decisions highlight Bangladesh’s dual strategy of diversifying energy sources—balancing LNG imports with large-scale domestic generation—to address current and future energy needs.
Govt to procure 200 double-cabin pickups for Police
The government has decided in principle to procure some 200 double cabin pickups to facilitate the operational work of Bangladesh Police.
The approval came from a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Economic Affairs held at the Secretariat on Tueswday with Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair.
The meeting approved in principle the proposal from the Public Security Division for procuring the 200 double cabin pickups under the Direct Procurement Method (DPM).
Besides, the meeting also gave approval from a proposal from the Ministry of Textiles and Jute under which some 1.36 acres of land of Tangail Cotton Mills Ltd located around 1.50 km away from its boundary walls would be sold out.
The Economic Affairs Committee also approved two other proposals from the Election Commission Secretariat and Power Division.