SGS to supply, install and maintain box scanner at Chtg Port

Chittagong: Port authorities have approved the purchase of a container scanner for Chittagong Port to nullify the chances of illegal arms and narcotics smuggling.

Officials said the council of advisers committee on purchase at a meeting on Saturday approved the purchase of the scanner amid strong demand from major importing countries, including the United States.

The lowest bidder of the re-tender is Swiss company SGS, which got the approval from the special committee to supply the scanner for Tk 43.4 crore and an additional payment of Tk 59.88 crore for providing services for six years after its installation, the finance and planning adviser, AB Mirza Azizul Islam, told reporters after the meeting.

The approved quotation is Tk 1.6 crore less than the price of the lowest bidder Cotecna offered in the original tender, which was scrapped by the government. The contract of Cotecna as a pre-shipment inspection company had been under process of cancellation due to various malpractices, Aziz told reporters.

The contract of Cotecna was cancelled on March 19 by the government for a number of allegations of import valuation forgery.

Sources in the finance ministry said the United States under its container security initiative programme asked all the countries concerned to install scanners to check movement of illegal arms and contraband narcotics.

The scanner will be installed at the port within six months to equip the Chittagong port with increased capacity for export-import activities to world standards, they said.

The purchase committee also approved the procurement of one lakh tonnes of wheat for $419 a tonne, 55,000 tonnes of murate of potash fertiliser for Tk 217.29 crore, 50,000 tonnes of triple super phosphate fertiliser for Tk 449.66 crore and the construction of internal roads in the Purbachal residential area at a cost of Tk 5.79 crore.