The Bangladesh government has approved procurement proposals worth nearly Tk 16,105 crore, including the emergency import of diesel, to ensure energy security amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and volatility in the global fuel market.

The approvals came at separate meetings of the Advisory Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Advisory Committee on Government Purchase (ACGP) held at the Secretariat on Tuesday, chaired by Finance Adviser Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.

According to the Finance Division, the CCEA granted policy approval to 17 proposals worth around Tk 15,000 crore. The largest decision was the import of 1.125 million metric tonnes of diesel under the Direct Procurement Method (DPM) at an estimated cost of Tk 14,836 crore.

The diesel will be procured from suppliers in Oman, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, China, Chile, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Kazakhstan. Official documents said the emergency measure aims to safeguard Bangladesh's fuel supply against uncertainties in the global energy market caused by the Middle East conflict.

The committee also approved a proposal to reduce the international tender period for importing raw materials used in the production of urea, DAP and TSP fertilizers from 42 days to 21 days to accelerate procurement.

In addition, the meeting approved a proposal appointing the Bangladesh Army as the implementing agency for the construction of six connecting roads under the ongoing Tk 3,110 crore development project in the Jangal Salimpur area of Sitakunda, Chattogram.

Meanwhile, the Advisory Committee on Government Purchase approved nine procurement proposals worth Tk 1,269 crore involving agencies under the ministries of agriculture, commerce, shipping, power, food, education, and the Prime Minister's Office.

The largest procurement approved by the committee was the appointment of a cargo operator for five years to manage the General Cargo Berths at Chattogram Port at a cost of Tk 264.05 crore.

Other approvals included the import of 40,000 metric tonnes of MOP fertilizer from Canada for Tk 192 crore, the purchase of 10,000 metric tonnes of lentils for the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) at Tk 80 crore, and the procurement of 10 million litres of rice bran oil for Tk 181.50 crore.

The committee also approved Tk 211.79 crore for electricity network construction at the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority's National Special Economic Zone, Tk 174.18 crore for the Bhasan Char Electrification Project, Tk 111 crore for the purchase of jute sacks for the Directorate General of Food, Tk 45.69 crore for consultancy services under the FDMN project, and an additional Tk 7.34 crore for constructing the administrative building at Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET).