The Ambassador of Russia to Bangladesh, Alexander Mantytskiy trashed all media reports about the embezzlement of money from the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP).
“I would like to express our extreme disappointment over the recent articles circulating in the Bangladeshi media regarding alleged embezzlement in the project. These so-called reports are completely false and misleading,” the Russian ambassador said in a statement.
“First of all, I reiterate that the Russian Federation operates on the premise that the recent changes in the Bangladesh government are an internal affair of your country. We have shown willingness to continue working together in all spheres for the benefit of the peoples of Russia and Bangladesh,” he added.
On August 20, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin congratulated Muhammad Yunus on his appointment to the post of the chief adviser of the Advisory Council. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sent the congratulatory telegram to his Bangladeshi counterpart Md Touhid Hossain, thus laying the foundation for further interaction between the two foreign offices.
Energy and agriculture remain the key fields of our bilateral cooperation. Russia, as major source of wheat and fertilisers for Bangladesh, has been contributing to its food security.
Gazprom International Ltd has been implementing projects in gas exploration and extraction in Bangladesh. Russian companies are ready to export crude oil and LNG to Bangladesh, and explore the local solar energy market.
Russia is eager to unlock new avenues of mutually beneficial collaboration.
“Our companies are ready to provide to Bangladeshi partners high-tech solutions applicable across multiple spheres, including transport, traffic management, medicine, agriculture, smart cities and public safety,” Mantytskiy said.
“Rosatom has already publicly denied these provocative statements. Corporation’s transparency in procurement system and adherence to anti-corruption policy are regularly confirmed by external audits. Still, it is important to remember that any project cost is a commercial secret, and neither Rosatom, nor its partners disclose this information,” Mantytskiy added.
Mantytskiy further added, “I would like to put an end to speculations regarding the cost of Units 1 and 2 of the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh and Units 3 and 4 of the Kudankulam NPP in India. It is totally incorrect to compare their cost in the first place, since they are not the same.
“Firstly, Units 3 and 4 of the Kundakulam NPP are being built on the site with developed infrastructure and completed surveys (the plant’s Units 1 and 2 were commissioned about a decade ago). The Rooppur NPP is a greenfield project that requires building the entire infrastructure from the ground up and conducting profound preliminary technological and research work.”
“Secondly, in Bangladesh, Rosatom is building two units under the contract that includes the construction, installation, and commissioning costs, while the Indian project is being carried out under the contract that makes the Customer, not the Contractor, responsible for construction and commissioning the power plant,” Mantytskiy further said in his speech.
He further elaborated, “Thirdly, the Bangladeshi and Indian construction sites conditions, locations, soil composition, weather conditions greatly differ from each other. In other words, building an NPP in Bangladesh demands highly material- and labour-intensive work.”
Despite the current turbulence period, the construction work at the Rooppur NPP has not stopped. In the end of this year, the company is planning to execute physical start-up of the Unit 1 reactor.
Rosatom State Corporation builds the plant utilising the most advanced engineering solutions and technologies based on the most stringent safety standards.
It is necessary to note that the NPP construction and operation will contribute to economic and infrastructure development of Bangladesh, strengthen its energy security, create jobs, and ensure orders for allied sectors.
“Each US dollar invested in the Rooppur NPP construction project will bring $4, 3 to the Bangladeshi GDP. Nuclear energy is also cheap and environment-friendly,” Mantytskiy said.
“All in all, we believe that those who write and spread fake news about the alleged embezzlement at the Rooppur NPP deliberately attempt to discredit the much-anticipated project and undermine steadily developing and mutually beneficial relations between two friendly states.” He said.
