The government is set to appoint Project Management Consultant (PMC) for second unit of the Eastern Refinery Limited (ERL) this month involving Taka 8,949 crore.
“To meet the growing needs of refined oil and strengthen the energy security in the country, the government is setting up the second unit of ERL,” Secretary of Energy Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Md Abubakar Siddique told here today.
He said the second unit of the ERL is likely to be set up involving Taka 8,949 crore as investor financing by 2016 with a capacity of refining around 3 million tonnes of crude oil annually.
According to a ministry official, the ministry opened the request of proposal for project management consultant on July 30. The Technical Evaluation Committee has been asked to submit the report of PMC by 10 days.
The official said the ministry is expecting to appoint the PMC this month aimed to install the ERL by 2016 for boosting up the country’s refinery sector.
He said the preparation of the detail project proposal for the second unit of the eastern Refinery Limited is under process. The second unit would be set up on 30 acres of land with the capacity of three times more than the existing one.
Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) will implement the project. Currently the BPC imports about 5 million tonnes of crude per year. “We will now invite expression of interest (EOI) to appoint a project management consultancy firm which will prepare a proposal to invite the companies,” he said.
The country’s lone refiner Eastern Refinery currently refines 1.3 million tonnes of crude oil per year while the capacity is 1.5 million tonnes. It is located in Chittagong.
Following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s instruction the ministry has undertaken plan to set up the second unit of ERL aimed at ensuring oil security in the country.
The ERL was set up at Patenga near the Chittagong Port in 1968. It is a subsidiary of BPC, the sole importer and distributor of petroleum products and crude oil in the country and a corporate wing of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.