Russia suggests setting up 1,000 MW nuclear power plant in Bangladesh

Dhaka - Mar 31: A visiting Russian technical expert team Tuesday suggested Bangladesh to set up a 1,000 MW nuclear power plant to meet the country's growing demand of energy, officials said. The Russian team made the suggestions in consultation with officials of Bangladesh's Science and ICT Ministry, an official of the ministry said on condition of anonymity.

He said the three-member technical team that represents the Russian state-owned nuclear energy corporation -- Rosa tom -- at its first meeting Tuesday suggested setting up a 1,000 MW plant as it is the smallest unit in terms of production capacity.

The Russian expert team will continue the discussions with Bangladesh side for the next two days. Bangladesh last year obtained a clearance certificate from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to go ahead with a nuclear power plant project.

The immediate past caretaker government launched a site preparation project at Rooppur, in Bangladesh's western Pabna district, about 200 km from capital Dhaka, with technical and financial support of the IAEA to make the site suitable for a power plant. The IAEA provided 366,000 U.S. dollars as technical assistance for the project.