Govt approves purchase of 163 vehicles for RAB at a cost of Tk 122 crore

The government has approved the procurement of 163 vehicles for the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to enhance its operational capacity.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase held at the Secretariat on Thursday (May 7).

The meeting was chaired by Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury.

Under the approved proposal, RAB will receive three jeeps, 100 patrol pickup vehicles and 60 air-conditioned microbuses. The total cost of the procurement has been estimated at Tk 122 crore 27 lakh 45 thousand.

The vehicles will be procured under the “Enhancement of Operational Capability of RAB Forces” project through direct purchase from state-owned Pragoti Industries.

Earlier, the Economic Affairs Committee of the Cabinet had given in-principle approval to the proposal on January 27 this year.

Although the Finance Division had issued a directive on April 5 suspending all types of vehicle procurement, the project was approved considering law enforcement requirements and RAB’s operational needs, officials said.

In the same meeting, several other major procurement and import proposals were also approved, including the import of 20 million litres of soybean oil for TCB, purchase of three LNG cargoes from the spot market, construction of 18 new power substations in Dhaka and Mymensingh, and a 12-storey government office building in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.