UNB, Dhaka :
The preparatory stage construction work on the 2000 MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) project is likely to begin in September this year.
The preparatory stage works include civil construction of different important offices, site development, access roads, hydraulic infrastructures, loading-unloading facilities of equipment, jetties at rivers, laboratories, flood protection structures, and also other utilities.
According to a highly placed source at the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), Rosatom, the Russian contractor of the RNPP project, will start the work as the government has already made its 10 percent down payment to the Russian authorities against the project cost.
The total project cost was estimated to be about $2 billion for the first unit of the 2000 MW plant while feasibility study and relevant work and its design will cost $500 million. The government signed a number of agreements with Rosatom to implement the project.
“We’ve already made the down payment against the project in June last under the 3rd agreement of the project with Rosatom”, said Shawkat Akbar, project director of the RNPP.
He also said after completion of the works covered under the 3rd agreement,
the government is expected to sign the fourth and final agreement of the project in third quarter of 2016 which will provide the scope for start of the foundation of the main nuclear power project, the installation of the nuclear reactor.
He informed that after completion of the preparatory stage works, Bangladesh will need to take two important licenses from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as prerequisite for start of the foundation work of the plant.
The licenses are site license and nuclear power plant construction license.
Contacted, State Minister for Science and Technology Yeafesh Osman told UNB that the work on the RNPP goes on as per the plan of his ministry.
The government signed the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russian government in 2009 and then singed a number of deals with Russian state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom. As per the deals, Russia will finance the project under a supplier’s credit mode.
Under a deal, Russia will provide $500 million loan to finance engineering surveys on the site, project development and personnel training.
The $500 million loan will be repaid in 12 years with a five-year grace period, and another $ 1.5 billion loan is expected from Russia for the final construction of the plant which will be repaid in 28 years with 10 years grace period. The IAEA continues its close involvement with the project.
