Germany finds nuclear power plant a risky affair for BD

German Chargé d' Affaires in Bangladesh Dr Ferdinand von Weyhe Monday said installation of a nuclear plant remains a risky affair for Bangladesh as it is an earthquake-prone country in the global map.
"Germany is not an earthquake-prone area. But Bangladesh is vulnerable. So, the nuclear power plant here could be a matter of thinking," he said replying to a question of newsmen after a financing deal-signing ceremony in Dhaka.
Bangladesh has taken a programme to set up 1,000-megawatt capacity nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna with technical and financial support of Russia.
Meanwhile, the German development bank Kfw Monday confirmed Euro 60 million assistance for Bangladesh by signing an agreement to upgrade the country's power transmission system in the western region.
Ms Lisa Steinacher, Director, Special Programme of the Kfw, and Economic Relations Division (ERD) Additional Secretary Mr Abul Mansur Md Faizulla signed the  agreement at the ERD office in Dhaka.
The diplomat said Germany has already decided to cut  nuclear power generation considering the future of its kids and people.
 "After the Chernobyl nuke power plant accident, Germany started rethinking about its nuclear plants. But when the Fukushima (Japan) nuke plant accident took place, Germany had then finally decided to cut power generation using nuclear fuel," he said.
Germany, which produces nearly 20 per cent of the country's total energy supply from nuclear plants, has decided to phase out all its nuclear power plants by 2022 gradually after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. It is now putting greater emphasis on green energy.
Of the Euro 60 million aid, the Kfw will provide 45 million Euro in loans and the rest 15 million Euro as grant for the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB).
The German development partner has provided the loan for the first time in Bangladesh. It usually gives grants for developing different sectors of the country since the independence in 1971.
The maturity of the German loan will be 15 years with 2.49 per cent interest rate.
The PGCB will modernise the power transmission system in Bangladesh's western zone reducing transmission losses equivalent to a saving of more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emission per year.
The efficiency gains from this project alone will be big enough to provide electricity to nearly 200,000 additional households.
The fund will be used in the western zone which has very inadequate access to the power supply grid due to under-developed infrastructure.
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