China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co (CPPEC) has been selected to operate and maintain Bangladesh’s first single point mooring (SPM) with a twin pipeline project.

The decision was approved in principle yesterday by the Economic Affairs Advisory Committee, which is chaired by Finance Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed.

The proposal, submitted by the Energy and Mineral Resources division, was approved under the direct purchase method (DPM).

But meeting officials said the detailed proposal was not presented during the session. Full details will be reviewed at the upcoming meeting of the Council’s Advisory Committee on Government Purchases.

The SPM, built on 90 hectares of land in Maheshkhali upazila, Cox’s Bazar, is a government-to-government (G2G) initiative between Bangladesh and China, completed at a cost of Tk8,341 crore.

The state-owned Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) undertook the project to streamline the unloading of petroleum products and their transportation via pipeline.

The facility has a 36 inch wide pipeline that transports crude oil from the mooring point to storage tanks at Kalamarchara in Matarbari. From there, the oil is moved 220 kilometers to the Eastern Refinery in Patenga, Chittagong, via an 18 inch wide pipeline.

The entire 110 km long pipeline connects the deep sea mooring point with the refinery.

According to officials, the SPM will significantly improve the efficiency of fuel offloading, reducing the time required to transfer imported petroleum from 11-12 days via light vessels to just 48 hours. This transition is expected to save around Tk800 crore annually.