Bangladesh, Russia and India signed a memorandum on trilateral cooperation Thursday in Moscow for the implementation of Rooppur NPP construction project, according to a statement released by Rosatom on the day.
Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation-Rosatom , Bangladesh's Ministry of Science and Technology and the Department of Atomic Energy of India signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation for the implementation of the Rooppur NPP construction project in Bangladesh, according to the statement issued by Rosatom's PR manager in South Asia Daria Savchenko.
On the Russian side, the memorandum was signed by Deputy Director General for international relations of the State Corporation Rosatom Nikolay Spassky, for Bangladesh side by the Ambassador of Bangladesh in the Russian Federation S. M. Saiful Hoque and for Indian side by the Ambassador of India in Russia Pankaj Saran respectively.
The Russian side is building a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh on 'turnkey' basis.
The general construction contractor is JSC Atomstroyexport, which is a part of the Engineering Division of Rosatom.
The scope of work includes design, production and supply of equipment, construction, installation, start-up and commissioning.
The MoU set a framework for the interaction of the Russian contractor, Bangladeshi and Indian experts for implementing works related to the project.
The parties, in particular, will cooperate in the field of personnel training, exchange of experience and consulting support. Indian companies would be involved in construction and installation work, the supply of materials and equipment of a non-critical category, the statement said.
"Today is a landmark event for nuclear industry- and for our countries. We are confident that this is the first step toward the formation of a new, forward-looking cooperation agenda in the region," said Spassky.
Rosatom is a global company and a world leader in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, he said.
"We are open to cooperation in the framework of our projects. The signing of the MoU is another example of our approach," Spassky added.
Bangladesh initiated the construction phase of the country's first nuclear power plant Thursday at Rooppur in Pabna district with the pouring of first concrete on the project site on November 30.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the construction work of the 2,400-MW Rooppur project at the project site.
The plant will use two generation 3+ VVER-1200 reactors. The plant is being built under an agreement by which Russia will finance most of the total cost of the plant. Russian contractors are already working at the site.
The first unit of the plant is expected to go into operation in 2023 and the second in 2024.
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