Matarbari Power Plant: Tk 93 lakh for two pipe cutters!

On January 9, 2024, a small shipment weighing 344.5 kilograms arrived at Chattogram port. The shipment worth $250,863 (Tk 2.75 crore) contained 19 pieces of small tools such as hammer, metal pipe cutter and silicon guns imported for state-owned Coal Power Generation Company Bangladesh Limited (CPGCBL), which is constructing Matarbari power plant in Cox's Bazar.

During physical inspection on January 11, customs officials found that the price of two German-made hammers was shown Tk 1.82 lakh. Similarly, the price of two pipe cutters made by the same German company was shown Tk 92.99 lakh.

Puzzled by such abnormal prices, the customs authorities declined to release the items and subsequently sought explanations from the CPGCBL and Power Development Board. The Daily Star has seen the letters dated February 4, 2024.

On March 27, this newspaper visited the website of the German company, KS Tools, to check the prices. The website shows the price of a look-alike hammer is 13.90 euros or TK 1,668 each, which is 55 times or 5,500 percent less than the imported price.

The company website also shows the price of a pipe cutter that matches with the imported one is 60.27 euros or Tk 7,232 each, 642 times (64,200%) less than the imported value.

Customs sources say that not only these two items, all 19 items of this shipment have been imported at absurdly high prices.

Documents from the NBR show import cost of these products has been shown 5 to 18,545 times higher than the value recorded in NBR's export-import database.

This database is basically a storage of foreign trade-related information, including export-import prices of various items, that the customs authorities use as a reference point.

The shipment in question came from Germany and the items, which also included locking pliers, toolboxes, chisels, spanners and car fitter sets, were supplied by KS TOOLS Werkzeuge, on behalf of Japan's Sumitomo Corporation, documents show.

According to the physical examination report by the customs authorities, the price of the pipe-cutting tool is 18,545 times more than the database value, the pipe wrench 1,053 times more, the monkey pliers 912 times more, the screwdriver 833 times more and the hammers 114 times more.

Contacted on February 28, Matarbari Power Plant Project Director Abul Kalam Azad said, "We think the prices are normal even though the customs said the prices are abnormal. The price may seem higher than the market price as the items were tailor-made upon a special order."

The two pipe cutters were made using "special metal" for use in the power plant, he said. "So, the price is high."

However, import documents show that the tools would not be directly used in the power plant. Besides, the tools are freely importable as they are used in all types of construction and routine maintenance work.

When The Daily Star sought a copy of the "special order" placed to the manufacturer for the pipe-cutting tool, Azad, also a director of CPGCBL, could not provide one.

Customs sources also confirmed that CPGCBL did not provide them with any such special order either.

Mohammad Fyzur Rahman, commissioner of Chattogram Custom House, said his office recently received the response from PDB and CPGCBL about the held consignment.

In the letters, the authorities mentioned that the imported products were priced as mentioned in the contract with the vendor.

"They also mentioned that it is common for certain products to have varying prices due to bulk importation. If the departments and ministry concerned have no objections regarding the additional price, then there is no need for any action," he said, adding that such incidents have occurred in the past as well.

The consignment will likely be released after collecting the duty as the items were not listed for duty-free import by the National Board of Revenue (NBR), Fyzur told The Daily Star on March 17.

CPGCBL appears to have gotten away with importing various goods at inflated prices for the project before, according to NBR records.

Multiple consignments of other agencies containing such products were also cleared through customs in Chattogram and Mongla from October 16 last year to January 15 this year, customs sources say.

The declared value of these products ranged from 5 times to 18,545 times more than the recorded value of the products in the NBR database.

"These consignments were imported under duty-free facility as those goods were brought for a fast-track mega project and the customs released the goods easily as those were imported by a state-run company," said a customs officer who examined at least two such consignments.

The official did not give the name of that state-run company and spoke on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

One of the consignments cleared in December last year contained ethernet switches, also known as network switches, for Matarbari project.

The price of the ethernet switches by German brand Hirschmann was $4,881.83 on the company website, but the import value was shown to be $205,218 (about Tk 2.3 crore).

Asked why the customs cleared the consignment, another customs official said, "We issued letters to PDB, CPGCBL and the project director for an explanation. Both the authorities informed us in writing that the goods were specially made for the project."

However, the user manual, catalogues and other information about the switches did not suggest the items were custom-made.

"If the project implementing authorities [CPGCBL and PDB] are okay with the additional expenditure, then we have nothing to do," he said, asking not to be named to speak candidly on the issue.

Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, said the role of customs officials in blocking the latest consignment is admirable.

"The claim of procuring hand tools like pipe cutters, hammers and screwdrivers by special order is ridiculous. This could possibly be an example of large-scale corruption," he said.

He urged the government to take actions against those involved in the "scheme" and benefiting personally by overpricing products.

Energy expert M Shamsul Alam also dismissed the abnormally high prices of the tools as laughable.

"Such extraordinary prices may seem normal to those who benefit from them," said Shamsul, also dean of the faculty of engineering at Daffodil International University.

"It is not a new phenomenon. But at the end of the day, it is the consumers who have to bear these additional expenses," he noted.