Sunday, May 23, 2010
Gulf News
Crucial framework arrangement for new atomic plant to ease power shortages
Bangladesh-Russia-nuclear
Dhaka, Moscow sign framework NPP deal
By Anisur Rahman
Correspondent
Dhaka Energy-starved Bangladesh has signed a crucial framework agreement with Moscow on Russian cooperation for the country’s new nuclear plant in northwestern Rooppur, an official announcement said yesterday.
A foreign office statement issued in Dhaka late yesterday said State Minister for Science and ICT Yafes Othman signed the Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of the Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes with director-general of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) Sergei Kirienko, a former Russian prime minister, in Moscow on Friday.
Bangladesh foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni, also on a visit to Moscow, witnessed the signing of the agreement which, officials here said, would kick off a detailed discussion on Russian assistance for Bangladesh’s proposed Rooppur nuclear power plant.
Atomic energy commission officials earlier said Bangladesh expected to produce at least 2,000 megawatts of electricity by 2020 from two units of the country’s new nuclear plant while a planning perspective for the power sector envisaged that 10 per cent of total generated power generation will come from nuclear energy by that time.
“The framework agreement will lay the basis for detailed discussions leading to the signing of the ‘final nuclear deal’ on Russian assistance for the installation of the Rooppur Power Plant by 2017,” a science and ICT ministry spokesman told Gulf News.
The foreign office statement said Dhaka-Moscow cooperation under the agreement would include the “design, construction and operation of nuclear power and research reactors; nuclear fuel supply, taking back spent nuclear fuel, nuclear waste management; personnel training and capacity building for the operation and maintenance of the plants; research; education and training of personnel in the Russian Federation in the field of the use of nuclear energy; the development of innovative reactor technologies; and the exploration and mining of uranium and thorium deposits.”
“As per the agreement, the parties shall assure the transfer of materials, technologies, equipment and services for implementation of joint programmes in the field of the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” the agreement said.
The deal also suggested that the two countries establish a joint coordination committee to control the implementation of this agreement while both countries agreed that the signing of the agreement would be followed by the subsequent “inter-governmental agreements” on technical and fin-ancial aspects.
The International Atomic Energy Association allowed Bangladesh to instal nuclear power plants in 2007 along with seven other developing nations while Russia, France, South Korea, China and Pakistan expressed their interest to offer their assistance for developing the infrastructure.
Officials said the planned nuclear project was expected to cost $1.5 billion (Dh5.5 billion) with a major part of the cost to be provided through domestic funds and the balance coming from the builder or international donors as soft loan.
“We decided to engage the builder of the project on [a] bilateral state-to-state basis instead of going for [a] time consuming international bidding process,” a senior science and ICT ministry official said.
An official at the ministry said Bangladesh preferred Russian technologies as the Russian authorities offered competitive prices for the installation of nuclear plants and Moscow was also interested in providing a soft loan together with the technology.
cooperation
By Anisur Rahman ?Correspondent
Gulf News 2010. All rights reserved.
