Finance, commerce and, science and technology adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Sunday said that the interim government was giving more focus on continuation of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant being constructed with around a $12 billion loan from Russia.
鈥楾he loan has already been taken,鈥� he said, responding to a question whether the overall project cost would be reviewed against the backdrop of criticisms that the construction cost of the plant was very high.聽聽聽
The finance adviser was talking to reporters at his secretariat office.
He said that the Russians were already assured of payment.
On August 26, Russian ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Mantytskiy at a courtesy call with the finance adviser asked the interim government to resume payment of interest.
Economic Relations Division officials said that the interest payment had remained suspended since 2022 because of disruptions in transactions with banks in Russia following bans imposed by the United States and European countries against the backdrop of the war by Russia in Ukraine.
The payment on interest has been kept in an escrow account maintained by the Bangladesh Bank, they said, adding that Dhaka had already asked Moscow to defer repayment of the principal amount of the loan by two years from 2029.
The construction of the nuclear power plant has faced fresh uncertainty after the recent fall of the Awami League regime that started the project in 2014.
The allegation of bribe of $5 billion taken by former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from the project reported in the local newspapers went viral on the social media.
The Russian ambassador has also shown聽聽 willingness聽聽 to聽聽 continue聽聽 working聽聽 together聽聽 in聽聽 all聽聽 spheres聽聽 for聽聽 the benefit of the peoples of Russia and Bangladesh.
Addressing a workshop at the Russian Embassy in Dhaka on August 27 in the capital, he reiterated that the Russian Federation operated on the promise that 鈥榯he recent changes in the Bangladesh government are an internal affair of your country鈥�.
The finance minister said that he had a positive discussion with the International Monetary Fund on a fresh $3 billion loan.
The IMF has already disbursed $2.3 billion under the current $4.7 loan programme.
