Bangladesh approves China vaccine import without tender
The cabinet committee on economic affairs in a meeting on Wednesday approved in principle a health ministry proposal to import the Chinese Sinopharm Covid vaccine without any tender.
Presided over by finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, the virtual meeting also approved another health ministry proposal to purchase 40 oxygen generators for Covid patients for the Central Medical Stores Depot also without tender.
Cabinet Division additional secretary Sahida Akhtar said that the purchase of the Sinopharm Covid vaccine under under the direct purchase method was approved due to the emergency situation.
The proposal of purchase of the Sinopharm vaccine was not in the initial agenda and it was placed on the table, she said.
She declined to give further details on the issue.
The health ministry sought the approval for importing the vaccine from China two days after its minister Zahid Maleque had said that the government was making all-out efforts to import vaccines from alternative sources as the stock of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine doses imported from India would exhaust in seven to 10 days.
The government has been also trying to import Covid vaccine from Russia after India imposed a ban on export of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced by Serum Institute of India in March.
The government signed a deal with Serum in November 2020 to buy 3 crore doses of the vaccine, 50 lakh doses each month from January.
The government paid in advance to get the vaccine doses by June but Serum has stopped supplying the vaccine in March due to the ban.
Sahida Akhtar said that the economic affairs committee also approved a proposal of the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation for signing contracts for the import of 12.80 lakh tonnes of urea.
The finance minister also presided over a meeting of the government purchases and approved nine proposals, including purchase of 33.60 lakh MMBtu liquefied natural gas from AOT Trading AG of Switzerland for Petrobangla with per unit LNG costing $10.177.
A proposal of the Bangladesh Power Development Board for awarding the construction contract of 400-megawatt gas-based power plant at Rawzan to SEPCO-III Electric Power Construction Co Ltd, China at Tk 1,796.72 crore was approved.
The committee approved a proposal of the Payra Port Authority for appointing Jan De Nul of Belgium for dredging the Rabnabad channel of the port at a cost of Tk 5,629.18 crore.
It also approved a proposal of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation for awarding the building 4 coastal passenger vessels by Karnaphuli Ship Builders Ltd at Tk 230.94 crore.
The committee approved two proposals of the Directorate General of Food that included appointment of a joint venture of Beximco Computers Limited, Bangladesh, Bangladesh Export Import Company Ltd. Bangladesh, Tech Mahindra Ltd. India, and Tech Valley Networks Ltd. Bangladesh for implementing GD-27 package of the Modern Food Storage Facilities Project at a cost of Tk 261.70 crore.
A joint venture of Confidence Infrastructure Limited of Bangladesh and the GSI Group LLC of USA was awarded W-21 package of the same project at a cost Tk 330.86 crore.
News Courtesy:
https://www.newagebd.net/article/138267/bangladesh-approves-china-vaccine-import-without-tender
