Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Saturday that New Delhi would be involved in the development of the transmission lines for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh as part of its credit line for the neighboring country.
“A significant part of our third line of credit will go to civil nuclear cooperation. Transmission lines of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will be developed by Indian companies under the line of credit. Value of these transmission lines will be worth over $ 1 billion,” Shringla told reporters following talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, in Dhaka.
Modi arrived in the capital of Bangladesh on Friday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the country’s war of independence from Pakistan and the establishment of diplomatic ties with New Delhi. He held a meeting with Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abdul Momen, during which the sides reaffirmed commitment to an all-encompassing partnership and further development of bilateral relations. Later, Modi met with Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid and Hasina.
The Rooppur NPP site is located on the eastern bank of the Ganges River in the settlement of Ruppur, about 160 kilometers (99 miles) west of Dhaka. The country’s first NPP will have two units. The first one is expected to be launched in 2022 and the second one in 2023.
The nuclear reactor and critical infrastructure are being built by the Russian Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, while the non-critical infrastructure is being built by the Bangladeshi and Indian construction companies.
