A joint-venture company of Bangladesh and China has secured the works for installing a 10-MW solar power plant in Bhasan Char with battery backup to light the homes of Rohingya community members living in the island.
The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase gave the approval at its meeting on Wednesday with Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury in the chair.
Held at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka, the meeting also approved proposals for import of fertiliser and procurement of jute bags for the Directorate General of Food, among others.
The solar power project will cost Tk 1.74 billion to be jointly funded by the Bangladesh Power Development Board and the World Bank (WB).
Under the project, power distribution system will also be set up at the island area on a turnkey basis.
Officials said an open international tender was floated to set-up the power plant where a total of 13 tenders were submitted. Out of them, five tenders were considered technically and financially acceptable.
The tender evaluation recommended the joint venture of China's Suhua Construction Group Company Limited and Dhaka-based Power System Development Company Ltd as lowest bidder.
The electrification project in Bhasan Char under Noakhali district was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council on September 26, 2024. The project tenure has been set from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2028.
The cabinet committee also approved a proposal, allowing the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) to import 40,000 tonnes of Murate of Potash (MOP) fertiliser from Canadian Commercial Corporation under a state-level agreement.
The procurement will cost the exchequer Tk 1.92 billion where each tonne of fertiliser will cost $388.55.
The meeting also approved a proposal to buy 16 million pieces of jute bags for the directorate of food at a cost of Tk 1.11 billion.
syful-islam@outlook.com