Cost of Ctg four-lane project goes up 21pc
The cost of a component of the Chittagong four-lane project has gone up 21 percent due to a rise in consultancy fees amid delays in project implementation.
The cabinet committee on purchase yesterday approved the increase in cost for four small bridges with a total length of 520.37 metres and construction of around 32 metres of overpass at Chittagong rail crossing to Tk 165.54 crore from an earlier estimate of Tk 136 crore.
Earlier, the consultancy fee for the project was increased by 40 percent to Tk 49.65 crore.
The committee also gave approval to purchase of 30-50 megawatts of electricity from NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd (NVVN) to meet the shortfall in power imports from India.
Since October 2013, the country has been importing 500MW of electricity from India through grid interconnectivity between Bohorompur in India and Bheramara in Bangladesh. Under the deal, Bangladesh received 250MW of electricity through NVVN and the remaining 250MW from Power Trading Company India Ltd.
In reality, the country has been getting 30-50MW of electricity less due to auxiliary consumption at the generating station and losses during transmission.
Subsequently, a decision was taken last year at the seventh meeting of the joint steering committee formed under the agreement signed between Bangladesh and India on electricity cooperation to buy power from private suppliers in the neighbouring country.
Bangladesh Power Development Board then called for proposals from the two companies on appointment of trading agent, who will purchase power from the Indian open market and supply to Bangladesh for a year.
As of now, BPDB is favouring the price quoted by NVVN, as it has offered the lower additional charges of the two companies.
The average price for a kilowatt-hour of electricity from the Indian government is Tk 3.27 per unit, much lower than the market rate of Tk 5.99 per unit.
But the new power import from private players will cost an approximate Tk 4.74 a unit, said a BPDB official. The purchase committee also approved a proposal for importing 50,000 tonnes of wheat at a price of $279.75 a tonne. Rotterdam-based Glencore Grain will supply the wheat.
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