By Mizan Rahman
The Russian ambassador to Bangladesh, Alexander A Nikolaev, yesterday said the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is safe for Bangladesh, saying the opposition to its construction has a wrong perception.
“I must tell you the reactor which is designed for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant isn’t just safe enough, but is at least 10 times safer than Fukushima (nuclear power plant) one,” he said at a seminar on ‘Russia in Modern International Policy’.
The envoy also said Russia successfully completed a huge nuclear power plant in Bushehr, Iran just two years ago and has now been constructing more than 30 nuclear power plants with the similar design in many countries.
“It’s sustainable not only against earthquake but also against tsunami.”
The Russian diplomat came up with the remarks when he was asked whether Russia would take the responsibility if Fukushima nuclear plant disaster-like tragedy takes place in Bangladesh.
Under an agreement with the government, Russia’s state-owned nuclear power operator, Rosatom, will construct two units of the Rooppur NPP, each of 1,000 MW capacities.
Apparently expressing displeasure over German ambassador Dr Albrecht Conze’s recent remark on Roopur power plant, Nikolaev said he did not know who told him (German envoy) about that and he (Russian envoy) could not understand the reason behind such position.
On March 16, Conze expressed concern over the government’s recent decisions to construct a coal-fired power plant not far from the Sundarbarns and a nuclear power plant near Pabna and said energy generation needs to take environmental risks into
account.
On bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Russia, Nikolaev said the two countries have the potential to increase the trade volume to $1bn which currently exceeds $700mn.
He noted that Russia developed a very good relation with Bangladesh from the very first day of the country as an independent state and assisted to restore and develop the
war-ravaged country.
The diplomat said that the co-operation between Bangladesh and Russia has always been ‘very comprehensive’.
