[PoorFan]

Wed, May 13th, 2009 3:48 pm BdST Dial 2324 from your mobile for latest news

Maruf Mallick bdnews24.com energy correspondent Dhaka, May 13 (bdnews24.com)—Bangladesh and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday on installation of a nuclear power plant. Chairman of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission Dr. Mosharaf Hossain and deputy director general of Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) N N Spasskiy signed the deal aimed at peaceful utilization of nuclear energy, the first step towards the installation. State minister for science Yafes Osman and prime minister's energy affairs adviser Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and high officials from both sides were present. Osman said in the signing ceremony that was an outcome of series of discussion and that the understanding was a step to take things further. "One of our expert teams will visit Russia. Then we will know the cost of power plant." "We are planning to install of 600-1000 megawatt power plant." "We have the same memorandum of uderstanding with the USA and China. We will try to pick the best one," he added. Spasskiy said, "It is important, because we signed the MoU, it enables us to start working, to start practical cooperation." "It is a big agreement, framework agreement." It was absolutely necessary in such a field as the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. "So my great hope is that it enables us to finalise the government procedures on both sides and to proceed to the signature of the agreement as soon as possible," he said. "The prospect of the cooperation is in the designing and afterwards in the building of a first-ever energy nuclear reactor in your country," the deputy director general added. "It would also imply a radical change to the situation of electricity in your country." "Bangladesh for us is not only longstanding friend, it's a strategic partner. Bangladesh is a key player in the region," Spassiky continued. "I do think that our technology in terms of everything is the best in the world." He said last December the Russian president signed a new agreement for the construction of four additional nuclear reactors during his visit to India. "Everywhere we are constructing nuclear reactors." The deputy director general said they needed to finalise the agreement 'as soon as possible', 'because without the agreement even we cannot talk about certain things'. He said there options for financing the project. A build-own-operate option is one of them. Spasskiy led a high-powered delegation of Russia, a global leader in nuclear technology, to Dhaka on Tuesday to sign the deal. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina provisionally approved the draft MoU, officials said last week. The draft MoU was finalised in a three-day meeting last month in Dhaka. Russia did not specify the financial terms which would be settled after the final agreement, said the officials with direct knowledge of the negotiations. They said Russia was interested to provide loan, probably on easy terms, rather than grant. The Economic Relation Division will settle the financial terms and conditions once the MoU is signed. Russia supplied 10 nuclear power plants last year and has supplied as many as 65 plants to Iran, India, China, Armenia, Ukraine, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Finland, Bulgaria and Germany. Currently it is constructing 11 power plants in countries. The first initiative to install nuclear power plant in Bangladesh in Rooppur, Pabna was taken in 1961. Currently 439 power plants are producing 16 percent of total electricity around the world. China and South Korea also approached Bangladesh to set up nuclear power plant. bdnews24.com/mrf/bd/1733h.

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Lets move on and real fast! But why only 600 - 1000 MW, not bad for the first time? We need couple of more if we ever to dream industrial development, and 150 million people to feed.