By : Zee news

Bangladesh has sought India's help for setting up a 600 MW nuclear power plant to meet its growing energy needs. "We have approached India for help to set up a nuclear power plant," said Hamid Khan, a senior scientist in the Atomic Energy Centre run by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC).

The Bangladesh government had earlier approached a European nation for supplying nuclear reactors but later chose India as it was "closer to home", he said.

"Talks are on at the government level," Khan told.

The neighbouring country is facing a power shortfall of over 1,500 MW and hopes to meet the demand through alternative sources like atomic energy.

Bangladesh's reserves of gas and coal have been its primary source of energy, but officials say these will run out within a few decades if they are used at the current rate.

The BAEC hopes to generate at least 1,500 MW with nuclear plants it plans to build, Khan said.

Khan, who was here to attend a conference on "Accelerator and low level radiation safety", said Bangladesh was expecting to procure 600 MW light water reactors from India.

"We chose India as it is closer to Bangladesh, both culturally and geographically. We will have help at country," he said.

Bangladesh has a nuclear programme that mostly caters to the requirements of the medical sector

Bangladesh had installed a three-megawatt research reactor at the atomic energy research establishment in Savar in 1986 for research and development activities and production of shorisotopes used in treating diseases like cancer.

It is understood to have finalised a site to build a 600 MW nuclear reactor. After the completion of the first reactor, another could be set up at the same site with the same power generation capacity.

Khan said Bangladesh's hydro-power plants too were not generating power to their full capacity. With limited domestic fossil fuel reserves, nuclear power offered a proven and economically viable option for electricity generation, he said.

A top Bangladesh Energy Ministry official said the county was considering atomic energy as an alternative source to bridge the growing shortfall of electricity.

Bangladesh's first nuclear power project was conceived in 1961, when the country was East Pakistan, and a site was selected in Rooppur on the basis of internationally accepted criteria and local requirements.

Both before and after Bangladesh's liberation, subsequent governments approved the nuclear power project and a number of international suppliers submitted proposals but these could not be implemented reportedly due to lack of funds.