Nuclear power in Bangladesh

program the country has attained a high level of technology transfer. This is a good achievement and reflects the growing maturity of Bangladesh's nuclear program.

The proposal for building a nuclear power plant in the western zone of the country was first mooted in 1961. Since then a number of feasibility reports had been prepa red which established that the plant was technically and economically feasible. The Rooppur site was selected in 1963 and 292 acres (118.3 hectare) of land (105.3 hectare for plant and 13 hectare for residential purposes) was acquired for the project. Phys ical infrastructures like residential quarters, site office, rest house, internal road, electric sub station, pump house etc. were established in the project area. The then Pakistan government gave formal approval for 70 MW, 140 MW and 200 MW Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in 1963, 1966 and 1969, respectively. Following liberation the ECNEC had approved the pp for a 125 MW nuclear power plant in 1980. A number of suppliers had submitted proposals for the project both before and after liberation. However, the pro ject could not be implemented due to several problems with financing as the main obstacle.

Considering the changed circumstances in national and international level the government of Bangladesh expressed its firm commitment to implement the Rooppur nuclear power project (RNPP). It may be mentioned that the inordinate delay in project implementation has brought about a number of changes in the planning process. For example since grid size is growing, it will eventually grow to a size where accommodation of a larger plant of 600 mw with advantage of economy of scale would be required. The growth of the grid to such a size incidentally matches the time needed for implementation of such a plant. Such changes would necessitate updating data, information and some of the past studies.

Nuclear power projects are very complicated and any decision on it, unless taken at an appropriate level of the government, might be rendered ineffective. Continuity of decision over a long time is also an important requirement. In the case of Bangladesh, a Cabinet Committee, chaired by the Head of the Government, has the responsibility to take decision on the project. This Committee includes Ministers and Permanent Secretaries of all relevant Ministries as well as the government agencies related to the project, the Planning Commission of the government and the energy sector in general. It takes all 29