Bangladesh, Russia sign deal on building nuclear plants
Bangladesh says it has signed an agreement worth nearly 13 billion dollars with Russia to build two nuclear power plants in the South Asian country for the first time.
The 12.65-billion-dollar deal was signed Friday night between Russia’s Atomostroyexport and the Atomic Energy Commission of Bangladesh, spokesman for the Bangladeshi Science and Technology Ministry Kamrul Islam Bhyian said.
Work will begin early next year at Ruppur, 160 kilometers from Dhaka to build each of the power plants with a 1,200-megawatt capacity.
Bhyian said the project will feature a new-generation reactor that has a 60-year lifespan with an option of extending it for 20 more years.
The first power plant is due to commence operations by 2022 and the second one by 2023.
Ninety percent of the total cost of construction will be financed by Russia in the form of credit with low-interest rates. Bangladesh will have 28 years to repay the credit with a 10-year grace period.
Bangladeshi Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith described the deal as the country’s largest power project and "an old dream" that had now been realized.
Based on the contract, the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom will be responsible for maintaining the nuclear plant as well as its fuel costs for the first year of its commercial operation. It will then be handed over to the Bangladeshi side.
Poor and densely populated, Bangladesh imports electricity from neighboring India to provide power supplies to its 160 million people.
Electricity supplies are also vital to the country's industries, including garment manufacturers, whose output account for 80 percent of Bangladesh's exports.
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