The nuclear center will be operated by Atomstroiexport, a Rosatom subsidiary, and it will be under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Director of Rosatom Sergey Kirienko is seen in the photo.
Photo: Valery Melnikov
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Russia to Build Nuclear Reactor for Junta-Run Myanmar
Russia has agreed to build a research nuclear reactor in Myanmar in a $60 million contract. With good chance to gain foothold in the region’s nuclear industry, Russia is sure to come under severe criticism for cooperation with this Asian state run by military junta.
“The agreement foresees cooperation in the design and equipping of a center for nuclear research in Myanmar,” including a light-water nuclear reactor, Russia’s nuclear energy agency Rosatom said in a statement on Tuesday. The nuclear center will be operated by Atomstroiexport, a Rosatom subsidiary, and it will be under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the statement added.
Atomstoiexport has contracts for seven nuclear plants overseas. The company is currently engaged in projects in China, India, Iran and Bulgaria. The nuclear reactor in Myanmar is to become the first research one for the Russian company.
The Myanmar deal is estimated to be worth between $50 and $70 million.
Russian nuclear officials are evidently eager to gain a foothold in South-East Asia, but the price for the contract may be dear. Myanmar is under U.S. and European economic sanctions imposed in response to rights abuses by the country’s military dictatorships and the arrest of democracy champion and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The project in the junta-run Myanmar is most likely to cause uproar in other countries. A Kommersant source reported that a research reactor in the country is likely to open the door for a second project which will construct a regular nuclear power station.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 16, 2007
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