RIO DE JANEIRO, July 27. /TASS/. First facilities of the Nuclear Research Center in El Alto, currently being built by Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation in Bolivia, will go into operation by the end of the year, Rosatom First Deputy Director General Kirill Komarov said.

"A lot has already been done. This year, the Cyclotron Radiopharmacy Preclinical Complex and the Multipurpose Irradiation Center will go into operation," Komarov said during the official ceremony of first concrete running into the foundation of the future research reactor.

In his words, the launch of those facilities would help to "drastically improve cancer diagnostics and treatment" in Boliva. The new facilities can also be used for sterilization of medical equipment during the pandemic.

The Nuclear Research Center project is to be fully completed in 2024, he said.

"The research reactor, to appear here in 2024, is a technical marvel, an innovative machine that will put Bolivia in one line with leading world powers," he added.

On March 6, 2016, Russia and Bolivia concluded an inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space and building a nuclear research center in El Alto, at an altitude of 4,100 meters above the sea level. The Bolivian government-funded $300-million project will be implemented jointly with Russia’s nuclear power corporation Rosatom.

The project to build the center is unique for the global nuclear sector. It will have research nuclear equipment based on a water-cooled reactor with the capacity of 200 kW, a multipurpose radiation center featuring industrial gamma-ray equipment, and various research laboratories. The center will ensure extensive use of radiation technologies in agriculture, medicine, industry, environment and other vital areas.