A contract has been signed by Russia's Inter RAO Engineering for excavation of the pit for main buildings of the Ruppur NPP in Bangladesh. The $79.3m contract was published on the procurement website of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom's on 28 March. It includes construction and installation costs of $74.9m, equipment costs of $305,950, and Bangladeshi VAT (5.5%) of $4.1m. The customer is Rosatom subsidiary Atomstroyexport.Financing of the pre-construction works will through a Russian state loan agreed last December.
The contract covers excavation of the pits foru 1 and 2 of the Ruppur plant, soil strengthening under the main buildings of units, and construction of fencing, temporary access roads, water drainage etc. The work should be completed by 30 November. Inter RAO Engineering has already carried out work to build construction and installation support facilities at the site.
In December Bangladesh a $12.65bn agreement with Rosatom for construction of the 2,400MWe plant. The Russian government is to provide 90% ($12bn) as a loan. The plant is expected to operate for 60 years. Russia has agreed to take supply the fuel and to take back the used fuel. The two units are expected to begin operating in 2023 and 2024. Rosatom will maintain the plant for the first year of its commercial operation before handing it over to Bangladesh.
