Bangladesh became the 33rd nation in the world to create nuclear energy on Thursday after receiving the first Russian shipment of uranium fuel for its $12.65 billion debut nuclear power plant.
Together with Rosatom, the Russian government-owned nuclear energy business, the south Asian nation is constructing the first of two nuclear power facilities. A Russian loan covering 90% of the project’s costs has a 28-year repayment term with a 10-year grace period.
“Today is a day of pride and joy for the people of Bangladesh,” Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said during a video conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh called a “nuclear fuel delivery ceremony” in a Facebook post.
The United States is putting pressure on Hasina’s administration to hold the “free and fair” elections that are scheduled for January by slapping visa bans on some Bangladeshi officials and political party leaders.
The first Russian foreign minister to visit Bangladesh since the country’s independence in 1971, Sergei Lavrov, promised Bangladesh last month that Moscow was committed to finishing the project on schedule despite challenges posed by Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.
The sanctions and COVID-19 pandemic limitations have caused a delay in construction. Bangladesh in December refused admission to a Russian ship delivering supplies for the facility because of US sanctions against Moscow.
A delay in loan repayments has delayed the commencement of operation of the plant’s first unit, which has a 2,400 megawatt total generating capacity, scheduled for July next year.
