Energy Bangla

Russian team will arrive in Dhaka in end May to sign the third contract for Rooppur Nuclear Power Project (RNPP). The ministry of science and technology and the RNPP authorities will soon settle the “misunderstanding” with Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) that has arisen over the increased cost of the feasibility study, according to sources in the science and technology ministry.
This is expected to expedite implementation of the country’s first nuclear power project, they added. “The team will come by end May. Now we have sent a letter to them to come here for signing the deal,” the official said.
Owing to the “misunderstanding”, RNPP and ROSATOM failed to sign the third financial deal last month, though a high-powered delegation had visited Dhaka for signing the deal.
Bangladesh signed an agreement to obtain USD 500 million for the study to determine the cost of setting up the power plant, including the plant’s design, primary construction and human resource training. But now, ROSATOM has demanded a further USD 55 million.
On June 29, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) signed an agreement with NIAEP-ASE. NIAEP is the management company for Atomstroyexport (ASE), a state-controlled nuclear power plant design and construction company and a subsidiary of the State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) of the Russian Federation.
The Cabinet committee on purchases approved the proposal to award the pre-construction work for the RNPP to Atomstroyexport at a cost of USD 45.9 million last June. This study is scheduled to be completed in 18 months.
Because of the problem, the RNPP authorities failed to start the third phase of the work.
Russia and Bangladesh have initialled the third contract for the preparatory installation and construction works of the RNPP. Under the third contract, Russia will create the civil and mechanical base at Rooppur site and will carry out preparatory installation and construction works.
According to the plan, the preparatory works are scheduled to be completed in 2016. The main construction will begin then, which might take five to six years, according to the standard schedule. The plan is to launch the RNPP in the early 2020s.