Bangladesh and Russia agree to pay yuan loan for construction of Rooppur NPP

MOSCOW, April 17 – RIA Novosti. Bangladesh and Russia have agreed to use yuan to pay off a loan for the construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant, a Bangladeshi newspaper reported. Business Standard with reference to the Department of Economic Relations of the country’s Ministry of Finance.

“According to the new agreement, Bangladesh will enter into payment agreements with Russia through any Chinese bank, and Russian beneficiaries will receive payments using the Chinese interbank payment system (CIPS), an alternative to SWIFT for payments in yuan.” writes a newspaper.

It is stated that Russia provided loan support for the construction of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh, and the project was carried out by a contractor headed by the state agency Rosatom. The cost of the nuclear power plant is estimated at 12.65 billion dollars, 90% of the construction is financed by a 28-year Russian loan.

In September 2022, the Central Bank of Bangladesh had already enabled RMB transactions, allowing banks to open RMB accounts at their overseas branches.

Rooppur is a nuclear power plant under construction according to the Russian project AES-2006. The site chosen for construction is located on the east bank of the Padma River, 160 kilometers from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. The foundation for the future power plant was laid in the fall of 2013. The station will consist of two power units with modern VVER-1200 reactors, each with a capacity of 1200 MW, with a service life of 60 years, with the possibility of extending the life by another 20 years.