The Science and Technology Ministry will place a proposal for the construction and commissioning of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna at a meeting of the cabinet committee on public purchase today.
On December 15, the government finalised the amount – $12.65bn – for the costliest project in the country’s history after signing an initial agreement with Russia.
“The power plant project was planned to meet the electricity demand and to enter into an era of nuclear energy. We forwarded the proposal for the approval of the cabinet committee on purchase and hopefully it will be placed before the committee [today],” Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.
He said Russia would provide 90% of the credit at the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus 1.75%. Bangladesh will have to pay back the loan in 28 years with a 10-year grace period.
Out of the total amount, $10bn was fixed as the base price, $1bn for soil stabilisation and additional costs and the remaining $1.65bn for price escalation.
The additional cost is associated with the construction of four to five radiation stations outside the power plant area, hiring extra manpower for the construction of a jetty and road, and an extra year of fuel costs.
Russia will provide this for two years after commissioning. The rate of price escalation would be 2.5% until the construction of the plant is finished.
An inter-governmental agreement for the provision of a $500 million Russian loan to finance engineering design, site development and personnel training was signed in January 2013. The loan will be repaid in 12 years with a five-year grace period.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is closely involved in the project.
On November 2, 2011, Bangladesh and Russia signed an agreement for the installation of a nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna.
Of the two-unit power plant with 1,200MW capacity each, the first unit is expected to start operation by 2021 and the second unit by 2022.
The Rooppur nuclear plant will be constructed using two VVER-1200 nuclear reactors that have a 60-year lifespan.
The VVER-1200 (Water-Water Energetic Reactor or WWER with 1,200MW capacity) is a “third generation plus” reactor.
Russia’s Novovoronezh Nuclear Power Plant II is set to become the first plant to go into operation using VVER-1200 reactor this year.
