MOSCOW, June 09. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia and Bangladesh have signed a final contract on the construction of the Ruppur nuclear plant in Bangladesh worth $300 million, CEO of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, said on Monday.

“We signed the third preparatory phase contract for the construction of the Ruppur nuclear plant at the end of the last week,” he told journalists, adding that thanks to this contract the construction schedule would be strictly observed.

According to earlier reports, the sum of the three contracts stands at about 500 million U.S. dollars. Preparatory phase final contracts provide for the site preparation for construction works.

The Ruppur site is located on the eastern bank of the Ganges in the Pabna District some 160 kilometres from Dhaka. The land plot under the would-be nuclear plant is owned by the government represented by Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

Russia and Bangladesh signed the agreement on cooperation in the area of peaceful use of nuclear energy that provides for the construction of Bangladesh’s first nuclear plant back in November 2011. In January 2013, when Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was on a visit to Russia, the sides signed an agreement on issuing a loan to finance the preparatory phase of the Ruppur project.

In June 2013, Russia’s NIAEP-ASE and Bangladesh’s Atomic Energy Commission inked a contract on drafting feasibility study and environment impact documents. The documents also provides for engineering research and environment survey.

Set up in 2012 by Rosatom, the company NIAEP-ASE specializes in designing, construction and decommissioning of nuclear electricity plants both in Russia and in foreign countries. Its share of the global nuclear plant design and construction market amounts to 30% Its current portfolio includes 20 concurrent nuclear plant projects in Russia and abroad. Apart from that, the company works on projects for the construction of radioactive waste handling facilities.