MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. Russia and Bangladesh have signed an intergovernmental agreement on the allocation of a state loan to finance the main stage of the construction of the Ruppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh, Atomstoyexport (ASE) said in a press release.

"Now financial and legal conditions have been created for the project of the construction of NPP Ruppur. For us, as a general contractor, the signing of the intergovernmental agreement on allocation of a state loan opens up the way to start the main stage of the NPP construction," Senior Vice-President of the ASE group companies Vladimir Savushkin said as quoted by the press service.

In accordance with the draft intergovernmental agreement Bangladesh will use funds for the construction of nuclear power plants in the period from 2017 to 2024.

Bangladesh will redeem the sum of the loan during 20 years in equal semi-annual installments. The first payment will make on March 15, 2027.

Two generator units of NPP Ruppur with a capacity of 1,200 MW, which are under construction with the participation of Russia in Bangladesh, are expected to be put into operation in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

In December 2015, the Russian Nuclear Agency Rosatom received a general contract for the construction of an NPP in Bangladesh. The price of the contract is not disclosed but according to Western media the investments will amount to about $12.65 bln.

Contracting on construction of the Ruppur nuclear power plant is carried out in accordance with the terms of the Intergovernmental Russian-Bangladesh agreement on cooperation signed in in 2011.

The NPP will be built 160 km from the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, on the east bank of the Ganges River.