Int'l law will be followed for RNPP: Minister

The Minister for Science and Technology Yeafesh Osman said on Monday that Bangladesh will follow the international law and rules in implementing any work of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP).

"We are abide by the law, we don't have any previous experience of building any nuclear power project in Bangladesh, so we will follow the international rules and laws in implementing the maiden nuclear project or the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP)," Yeafesh Osman told the Daily Observer on Monday.

According to the RNPP authority the financial liability for any civil damage is equivalent to US$450 million for the Unit-1 and Unit-2 of the RNPP.

Yeafesh Osman said till today, as per my knowledge, we are following and maintaining the international standard in this regard.

He made all these comments while addressing the civil liability for nuclear damage issue of RNPP.

The RNPP authority wants the grantee to cover the possible damages during transportation of nuclear fuel from Dhaka airport to the plant site by road which is scheduled to start in October next.

The International Conventions on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage and National Regulatory Law said that the operator or licensees are legally responsible for any kind of incidents at the stage of commissioning, operation, maintenance, and transportation of nuclear substances and fuel for nuclear facilities.

At the same time, the convention made mandatory arrangement of required funds to provide compensation for the damages in case of any incident.

 "RNPP authority wants to cover the civil liability for nuclear damage through furnishing a government guarantee instead of buying insurance policy until the plant begins power generation," a senior official of the Ministry said.

It also wants the government to bear the liability of civil damage instead of the plant operator, he added.

However, the section-43 of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Act 2012 (BAER Act-2012), local and foreign operators are responsible for any kind of incidents linked to nuclear facilities.

And, they have to buy a required insurance policy or ensure any other financial security to provide a required fund for paying compensation in case of any incident.

The BAER Act-2012 also mentioned that if the operator is unable to meet any civil damage linked financial demands, the government will ensure required funds for the payments.

Meanwhile, the Project Director of RNPP Dr Mohammad Shawkat Akbar told media that there is an obligation for creation of such a fund according to the international convention.

"If the government gives us indemnity, an additional $450 million would not be added in the total project cost," he said.

Mr Akbar said the international convention mentioned the creation of a 'single point liability' to file cases for compensation in case of any civil damage.

"Since the government itself is the owner of the RNPP, we requested the government to give the plant indemnity and take the liability by itself for any civil damage," he added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) in a letter to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) last week sought the guarantee.