By IANS
Dhaka : Armed with a tentative Russian offer of help, Bangladesh is seeking to move the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for setting up nuclear power plants in the country.
Energy Adviser Tapan Chowdhury is in Vienna to attend the IAEA’s 51st annual general conference, where he is expected to hold talks with Mohamed El Baradei, director general of the world atomic energy watchdog, on the sidelines of the conference.
“We will seek cooperation from the IAEA director general on setting up nuclear power plants in Bangladesh as we are facing chronic power shortage,” Chowdhury told New Age before leaving for Vienna.
The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission has said that two 500 MW nuclear power reactors could be set up at the proposed site at Rooppur. Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury in his recent visit to Russia sought Moscow’s help in setting up the plants.
On his return, he said that Moscow had agreed to provide assistance, adding that Bangladesh had turned to Russia since “not every country is ready to help”.
Tapan Chowdhury said that he might also discuss the setting up of nuclear plants with representatives of other participating countries.
“We are looking for different avenues as it usually takes a long time to implement a nuclear power project,” he said.
Bangladesh says it is facing a severe electricity crunch and fuel shortages to run power plants and is now looking for alternative sources like nuclear power. Energy experts are also urging the government to go in for the nuclear option, New Age said.