In the first week of July 2021, the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute (MEPhI) held its first graduation ceremony for students from Bangladesh. A batch of 15 Bangladeshi students received their diplomas during the ceremony. These students will form a crucial part of human resources for the operations of the country’s first nuclear power project, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project. The human resource development in complex science and technology field is one of the many contributions the RNPP project is expected to have on Bangladesh’s economic growth. Besides adding 2400 MW power generation capacity to Bangladesh’s energy mix once the project becomes operational, the RNPP project, one of the largest infrastructure project in the country’s history, is shaping up to be an important driver of social and economic development of Bangladesh. The project will have a profound impact, some of which are already visible, on the economic development, human resource development in science and technology field, indigenous capacity building for larger infra projects and industrial growth. These aspects are explored further in detail below.
Economic development
The Bangladesh government's twin policy initiatives - Vision 2021 and Digital Bangladesh - envisage Bangladesh to become a middle-income country by 2021 and a developed country by 2041. To achieve this goal, the scale and speed of industrialization would be the key. However, the current energy production capacity is not sufficient for a sustainable industrialization. As such, the RNPP project adds crucial value to Bangladesh’s energy mix with 2400 MW generation capacity. The project will be able to support some of the most ambitious industrial expansion plans of Bangladesh government in the years to come. The location of the RNPP is also crucial in this regard. Pabna, where the RNPP is located, is one of the most industrialized cities in the country with plans for further expansion. Pabna and adjoining zones currently have more than 170 heavy, medium and light industries. As Bangladesh government is further planning to reduce its reliance on coal powered plants, the RNPP will be able to supply the emergent energy demand for the existing and proposed industrial base.
As Bangladesh government is further planning to reduce its
reliance on coal powered plants, the RNPP will be able to
supply the emergent energy demand for
the existing and proposed industrial base
There are already some very visible and direct economic impacts of the project particularly in the Pabna area. The project has generated direct and indirect employment opportunities for thousands of people in Bangladesh. At present, there are 25000 local workers and experts employed in the construction of RNPP. In addition, various Bangladeshi contractors working on the project have generated thousands of indirect employment opportunities for locals. The resultant economic boom is apparent in the vicinity of the project where in Pabna hundreds of new businesses have sprung up and are thriving due to the demand created by the RNPP workforce, both domestic and foreign.
Human resource development in science and technology field
As stated earlier, Russia is providing training to Bangladeshi students in operations and management of nuclear power plants. During the graduation ceremony of the Bangladeshi MEPHI graduates, the Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia Kamrul Ahsan noted, “Training young specialists from Bangladesh in the field of nuclear energy will encourage the creation of innovative sectors in the country’s economy. It is capable of improving the quality of education, creating new highly-paid jobs and the emergence of new specialists.” Moreover, the Bangladeshi experts working alongside some of the world-renowned Russian experts at RNPP are gaining valuable insights in planning, execution and operations of technologically complex and challenging tasks. The project is directly contributing to developing a pool of highly skilled labor force.
Impetus to research and development in non-power generation applications of nuclear technology
The project is not only ensuring creation of highly skilled workforce, it has given considerable push to research and development in nuclear technology in the country. The knowledge and experience gained from the RNPP by the Bangladeshi experts will be crucial to develop indigenous non-power applications of nuclear technology. Innovations in nuclear technology are applicable to a number of areas including agriculture and medicine. Bangladesh Atomic Energy Corporation (BAEC) has taken some concretelu7 steps in this regard. It has established Nuclear Medical Physics Institute to undertake research and development of nuclear technology in medicine. Similarly, the country, with international co-operation, is developing nuclear technology applications in agriculture including insect and pest control and improvement of crops production based on mutation breeding. The mutation breeding technique, based on nuclear technology, creates crop varieties with higher yield, shorter time for plant growth and crops requiring less irrigation. A variety of rice seeds developed by BAEC through mutation breeding called BINA Dhan-14 and BINA Dhan-18 are now being widely used by farmers.
In addition to the direct and indirect economic impacts on the employment generation, development of skilled human resources, indigenous capacity building for large, technologically complex projects and a driver for industrial growth, the RNPP project is also contributing to capacity development in other areas as well. A pertinent example would be the recent training of Bangladesh army personnel in the physical protection of nuclear facilities. The two week training was conducted by Global Nuclear Safety and Security Institute of Rosatom.
Noting the importance of RNPP in the country’s economic development, Sajedul Islam, Lecturer (Adjunct), Department of Economics, Independent University, Bangladesh says, “The project is a much-awaited push towards ensuring energy supply for Bangladesh’s plan of rapid industrialization. If we want to achieve our goal of raising the per capita income to $12,500 by 2041, the speed of industrialization and diversification of the economy will have to be significantly scaled up which will require a sustainable and environment friendly energy source. RNPP is definitely a concrete step that direction. The expertise and experience our Bangladeshi experts are gaining from the project will also contribute to building a skilled workforce which would be beneficial for the country in the long-run.”
Aroup Raton Shaha is a Researcher (International Investment Law) and Chairman (Acting) Department of Law, Cox’s Bazar International University
