The New Nation - Internet Edition

Shamim Jahangir

The government will agree to sign final deals with Russia for installation of 600MW to 1,000MW electricity generating nuclear power plant within four to five years at Rooppur as a part of peaceful nuclear deal.

State Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Yafez Osman yesterday told The New Nation after returning from Russia on Friday after a visit to Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant in Russia, about 200 kilometers north-west of Moscow.

Russia installed two separate power plants having capacity of 1,000MW of Power each at Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant.

The high powered team led by the state minister included Power Division Secretary Md Abul Kalam Azad and ICT Secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder.

"We have convinced the Russian initiative to generate electricity from nuclear plant," he said, adding, "After talking with the Russian counterpart, we have proceeded another step to set up the nuclear power plant in Rooppur here."

Terming his visit in Russia as 'a great progress', Yafez Osman said that Russia will form a technical team to visit the Rooppur site immediately.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the two countries in this regard on Thursday last in Russia.

Earlier the government has signed a bilateral agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on installation of the nuclear power plant between Bangladesh and Russia on May last.

Russian government is now scrutinizing the deals to sign the final agreement with Bangladesh, an official who also visited Russia told The New Nation yesterday.

"They will inform us about their interest immediately," he said.

About the financial terms to install the plant, he said it would be settled after negotiation between the high-level policy makers of the two countries.

The first initiative to install nuclear power plant in Bangladesh in Rooppur, Pabna was taken by Prime Minister's husband late nuclear scientist Dr Wazed Miah in 1961.

Currently 439 nuclear power plants are producing 16 percent of the total electricity around the world.