Payra channel dredging to cost over Tk 5,600cr

The government yesterday accepted a proposal for dredging a channel for the Payra seaport in Kalapara, Patuakhali at a cost of Tk 5,629.18 crore.

The cabinet committee on purchase approved the "Capital and Maintenance Dredging of Rabnabad Channel of Payra Port" project proposed by Payra Port Authority in a meeting chaired by Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.

The work was awarded to Belgium-based dredging company Jan De Nul (JDN).

The government in March took up steps to use money from the foreign exchange reserves for the dredging of the Rabnabad channel.

It was the first-ever move to use money from forex reserves for a development project.

The government formed Bangladesh Infrastructure Development Fund (BIDF) to lend money from the forex reserves for the dredging. 

Meanwhile, the cabinet committee also approved a proposal for purchasing over 33.6 lakh mmBtu liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the spot market at a cost of Tk 340.62 crore.

The proposal was submitted by Petrobangla, a corporation of the energy and mineral resources division, for making the purchase from AOT Trading AG, Switzerland.

This is the 15th time LNG would be purchased.

Each mmBtu (metric million British thermal unit) will cost $10.2, informed Shahida Akhter, additional secretary to the cabinet division.

The committee also approved setting up a 400-megawatt power plant at Raozan of Chattogram at a cost of Tk 1,796.72 crore. The work was awarded to Sepco-III Electric Power Construction Co, China.

The production cost was fixed at Tk 1.38 per kilo watt, informed Akhter.

The committee also approved importing 12.80 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser in total from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Following the meeting, the finance minister at a virtual briefing said every macroeconomic fundamental of the country was currently on an upward trend.

The inflation rate remained constant at 5.47 per cent, export stood at $32.1 billion as of April with 8.7 per cent growth even amidst the pandemic and remittance inflow reached $22 billion in the first 11 months, he said.

Mentioning that the country's foreign exchange reserve would reach $45 billion by this month while it was $36 in June last year, he hoped for the figure to turn $50 billion next year.

Non-performing loans in the banking sector came down to a great extent, to 7.66 per cent of total loans against 9.16 per cent in June last year, said the minister, adding that the interest rate has also reduced to 7.4 per cent.