Staff Reporter :
As the Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply (Special) Act 2010 has been suspended, the interim government is exploring alternative legal framework to ensure the continued import of LNG and petroleum fuels.
The fresh legal structure is being search by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources that will allow for the swift procurement of energy resources, particularly LNG, from the international spot market.
“We have already begun working to bring a solution on the issue,” Md Nurul Alam, Secretary of the Energy and Mineral Resources Division, told journalists.
“The Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) of the Ministry of Planning is involved in this effort so that we can import the LNG in short notice,” he said.
The decision to suspend all procurements, including LNG imports under the Special Act, was made following a directive from Dr. Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan, the newly appointed adviser to the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources.
The adviser on his first day in office announced the suspension of the law, which allowed public procurements in the energy sector without competitive bidding or tender processes.
He emphasized that future procurements would hold fast strictly to the Public Procurement Act, 2006, and Public Procurement Rules, 2008.
The Speedy Increase of Power and Energy Supply (Special) Act 2010 was widely criticized by energy experts and economists as an opportunity of making illegal money fast.