Russia to send materials by another vessel

Construction materials of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) transported by US-sanctioned ship Ursa Major are now being sent via another vessel to Bangladesh, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Tuesday, citing RNPP project contractor Rosatom.

The Business Post has also independently confirmed the development through an official of Rosatom at their Dhaka office. The official said the alternative carrier vessel will arrive in Bangladesh very soon.

The delay has not and will not affect the construction works of the country’s first nuclear power plant. The work is going on as per schedule, the official added.

The Russian authorities sent around 50 tonnes of construction materials of different kinds by Ursa Major in December last year. The ship was scheduled to dock at Mongla Port at the end of December and unload the cargo destined for the RNPP in Ishwardi, Pabna.

But the authorities denied it permission to dock at the port after officials got a letter from the US Embassy in Dhaka that said the vessel was on a list of Russian ships sanctioned by the US following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

On January 22, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said Bangladesh will not allow the sanctioned Russian ships, noting that Bangladesh has a good relationship with the US.

Bangladesh then conveyed to the Russian side that they can send ships that are not among the sanctioned 69 ships carrying equipment for RNPP.

The 2,400 MW RNPP is scheduled to start full commercial production in 2024. It is the country’s largest investment project that is being built by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission at $12.65 billion — 90 per cent of which is coming from Russia.