Rooppur Nuke plant
$12.65b deal with Russia okayed
STAFF REPORTER
The Cabinet Purchase Committee yesterday approved a $12.65 billion contract with Russia to build a 2400-MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
The approval came at a meeting of the cabinet body held with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair.
On December 15, the government finalised the biggest ever investment project in the country by inking an initial agreement with Russia.
The power plant project was planned to meet the electricity demand and to enter an era of nuclear energy, science and technology minister Yeafesh Osman told The Independent.
He said Russia would provide 90 per cent of the credit at 1.75 per cent interest plus the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Bangladesh will have to pay back the credit in 28 years with a 10-year grace period. Of the total amount, USD 10bn was fixed as the base price, USD 1bn for soil stabilisation and additional costs, and the remaining USD 1.65bn to cover price escalation.
The additional cost is associated with the construction of four to five radiation stations outside the power plant area, hiring of extra manpower for the construction of a jetty and a road, and fuel costs for one additional year. Russia will provide these for two years after commissioning. The rate of price escalation would be 2.5 per cent until the construction of the plant is finished.
Earlier, an inter-governmental agreement for provision of a USD 500 million Russian loan to finance engineering design, site development and personnel training was signed in January 2013.
