Bangladesh has lost around Tk 1,200 crore in missed savings over the last one and a half years due to the delay in commercial launch of a dual pipeline that can carry imported oil directly from Cox's Bazar's Maheshkhali to Patenga in the port city.
Though construction of the pipeline under the Tk 8,300-crore Single Point Mooring (SPM) project was completed in March last year, the government has not been able to find an operator, leaving the facility idle.
According to the Development Project Proposal, once implemented, the SPM project would save Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) around Tk 800 crore annually in fuel transportation costs.
The delay stems from the interim government's decision not to give the job to any company without a tender, as well as the failure to select a qualified operator through a tender, said officials at BPC and Petroleum Transmission Company Limited (PTCL).
Moreover, 44,000 tonnes of fuel oil worth around Tk 300 crore have remained stuck in the 220km dual pipeline since March last year.
