Nuclear plant plan to be sent to IAEA

Dhaka: Bangladesh will send today to the International Atomic Energy Agency a work schedule for setting up a 600–1,000MW nuclear power plant, an adviser to the government told New Age on Tuesday.

‘The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission has already drawn up a work programme to set up a 600–1000MW nuclear power plant at Rooppur and the schedule will be sent today to the IAEA headquarters in Vienna,’ said power, energy, science, and information and communication technology adviser, Tapan Chowdhury.

The IAEA advised Bangladesh to send the work schedule after a government delegation led by Tapan in September had requested the global nuclear agency to provide technical assistance in setting up the nuclear power plant.

Bangladesh is now desperately looking for alternative energy sources to generate electricity as the country’s prime source of energy, gas, is depleting fast and it will take years to produce coal.
Tapan held meetings with IAEA high-ups including its director general Mohamed Al Mohamed El Baradi on the sidelines of an IAEA conference in Vienna, where he sought its support in setting up the nuclear power plant.

The IAEA told the adviser that it would send a team of experts by January to discuss about the power plant after scrutinising the Bangladesh’s work programme.

The IAEA delegation will visit Bangladesh to examine the country’s preparations and security and safety measures so that it could provide technical support to set up the plant.

The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission aims to bring the nuclear power plant into production by 2015.

A number of countries including Russia, South Korea, China, India and Pakistan also have expressed their interest to provide assistance to Bangladesh in setting up the plant.

The country now faces a power shortage of around 1,000MW and with the existing gas reserve the country will not be in a position to set up any gas-based power plant after 2010–2012.