The government has decided to import 1.4 million metric tons of crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi in 2027 for processing at the Eastern Refinery PLC (ERPLC). Approval in principle for this import—conducted on a Government-to-Government (G2G) basis—was granted during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs held on Wednesday, presided over by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.

The oil will be procured through the Direct Purchase Method (DPM) from Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC, utilizing financing from the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC). This decision was made to meet urgent state requirements, primarily because processing ‘Arabian Light’ and ‘Murban’ crude oils at ERPLC’s aging plant is financially more profitable, and there is no guarantee of obtaining these specific grades from other sources.

The same meeting also approved a proposal to directly import refined fuel oil via the G2G process from January to December 2027, as well as a proposal to reduce the tender submission deadline from 42 days to 21 days for the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation’s (BPC) import of refined fuel oil through international open tenders.

Following the meeting on economic affairs, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved several other significant procurement proposals across the power, fertilizer, infrastructure, and health sectors. Among these, the revised tariff rate for purchasing electricity from the Ashuganj 400 MW Combined Cycle (East) Power Plant was set at 3.7 US cents (4.5436 Taka) per kilowatt-hour.

Additionally, approval was granted for the import of 40,000 metric tons of DAP fertilizer from Morocco’s OCP Nutricrops SA through the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) at a cost of Tk 427.80 crore. In the realm of infrastructure and communication development, proposals were approved for the appointment of consultants to oversee the construction of the project converting the Chattogram-Dohazari meter-gauge railway line to dual-gauge; for the development of an elevated road and physical infrastructure in the haor area of ​​Jamalganj, Sunamganj; and for the appointment of contractors to reconstruct roads, bridges, and culverts in Sunamganj and Habiganj that were damaged during the 2022 floods.

Additionally, two separate proposals were approved for health sector development: one for the construction of the 11-story, 1,200-bed Rajshahi Medical University and Clinical Faculty building, and another for the procurement of medical equipment—including for operating theaters—across various departments of Sunamganj Medical College and Hospital.