TK Group to set up refinery, LPG terminal
The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority yesterday signed an initial deal with Super Petrochemical Pvt Ltd, a concern of TK Group, to award land to the company to help it set up refinery, storage facilities, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal and a power plant in Moheshkhali.
The two parties signed the memorandum of understanding on land allocation at a programme at Sonargaon hotel in Dhaka, according to a statement of the BEZA.
The 300-acre land is located in Dholghata and south Dholghata mouza under the Moheshkhali-3 Economic Zone in Cox's Bazar.
Once completed, the project will create about 10,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, according to the statement.
It said SPPL would make heavy investment to set up a large petrochemical refinery plant at Moheshkhali with technical support from China, Germany, the US and France.
The company is expected to form a joint venture with South Korea's leading LPG player SK Gas to see the financial and technical feasibility of setting up an LPG terminal.
If the terminal is set up, it would save the country about $40 million annually, the company said.
SPPL is the largest producer of petroleum and petrochemical products in the private sector in Bangladesh. It produces and supplies fuel oil to state-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation.
It also has an exclusive contract with state-run Eastern Refinery Ltd on naphtha buy and sales.
The company caters 60 percent of local demand for octane. Besides, it produces petrochemical products such as toluene and xylene used in making paints, inks and adhesive.
JW Kim, director general for trade at South Korean embassy in Dhaka; Rho Kangho, vice-president of SK Gas, and Mohammad Mustafa Haider, managing director of Super Petrochemical Pvt Ltd, attended the signing ceremony.
Md Abul Kalam Azad, chief coordinator for sustainable development goals at the Prime Minister's Office; Kazi Aminul Islam, executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority; Abul Mansur Md Faizullah, chairman of Petrobangla; and Paban Chowdhury, executive chairman of the BEZA, were also present.