Bangladesh, South Korea enhance nuclear energy cooperation
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A signing ceremony was held today at the BAEC headquarters in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was attended by KAERI Director Won-seok Park, BAEC Chairman Mohammad Azizul Haque and Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh Jang-geun Lee.
Under the MoU, the main areas for cooperation between KAERI and BAEC will include the development, utilisation and upgrade of research reactors, the production and application of radioisotopes, development of radiation technology, neutron science and the management of radioactive wastes.
KAERI said the signing of the MoU "would serve as a new turning point for enhancing cooperation in various fields beyond the existing nuclear power cooperation in the field of research." It added: "This agreement was prepared to establish and strengthen a future-oriented cooperative relationship between the two organisations by exchanging human resources and technical information in the overall field of nuclear energy."
In July 2021, KAERI won a contract worth about USD3.9 million from BAEC for the modernisation of its Bangladesh Training Research Reactor (BTRR). The project involves the development and replacement of key facilities at BTRR, which has been in operation since 1986, with digital technology. The project is scheduled to be completed in January 2023.
"I am delighted to strengthen cooperation with the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute following the BTRR project contract last year," said BAEC Chairman Mohammad Azizul Haque.
Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant - comprising two VVER-1200 reactors - is currently under construction by Russia's AtomStroyExport at Rooppur, about 160 km northwest of Dhaka. Rooppur 1 started construction in 2018 and it is scheduled to begin generating power in 2023 or 2024. Unit 2 at the plant is one year behind and Bangladesh has declared it would like to start on a second nuclear power plant once Rooppur is in operation.
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