Bangladesh's Nuclear Power Project Kick Starts with $500 Million from Russia

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Russia will provide a $500 million loan to finance the initial stages of Bangladesh's first nuclear power project. The agreement between the two countries was signed during a state visit to Russia by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The loan will fund preparatory work at Rooppur, such as site surveys, feasibility studies and environmental impact studies. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the national nuclear utility, Rosatom (Moscow), was preparing to build the nuclear plant. He added that about 20% of the country's current installed power generating capacity had been built with Russian assistance.

Ria Novosti reported that Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Rosatom, said that work could begin at the reactor site in 2014, with construction beginning in 2015. Contracts for on-site surveys would need to be signed during the first quarter of 2013, followed by contracts covering five decades.

Rooppur, which is 200 kilometers north of the capital Dhaka, was earmarked for the country's first nuclear plant as long ago as 1963. Bangladesh has pursued the goal of nuclear power generation to help meet rising energy demand and reduce dependence on natural gas.

In February 2011, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission signed an agreement with Rosatom for two 1,000-MW reactors to be built at Rooppur. In 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency conducted an Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review mission in Bangladesh, concluding that the country had made "notable progress" in nuclear infrastructure development. The review also recognized the country's strong expertise in safeguards, security and radiation protection.

The World Nuclear Association reports that the raft of agreements signed during the state visit included an agreement to establish a high-tech information center on nuclear energy in Dhaka to educate and inform the people of the country about nuclear power. The center will be housed in the capital's planetarium and will combine a panoramic, three-dimensional view, computer graphics and animation, stereo sound, interactive consoles and personal displays, according to Rosatom.

Seventeen of these centers are in operation in Russia, and Rosatom plans to establish more in those countries where Russian nuclear technology is to be built. The Dhaka facility, which Rosatom says will start operating this year, will be the third overseas center, following others in Vietnam and Turkey.

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