Russian contractor wants quick payment of Rooppur plant arrears

The Russian contractor of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Atomstroyexport, has called for swift settlement of outstanding bills owed to local subcontractors to keep the work on the high priority power project uninterrupted, according to sources within the Bangladesh Bank.

During a virtual meeting with the central bank on Tuesday, Atomstroyexport claimed that three local contractors are owed a total of $4.41 million in regular bills, with Paharpur-MIL to receive $3.211 million, Max Infrastructure $396,000, and Max HCC JV $804,000.

There is another local contracting company, the Civil Engineers Limited, involved in the project.

Apart from these, there are additional accrued outstanding bills amounting to $4.24 million since the beginning of this year up to 28 July. Even though the Bangladesh Bank has approved the clearance of these dues, their payment is still pending.

In total, local subcontractors are owed $8.65 million.

It has been reported that from the start of this year until 28 July, the Bangladesh Bank approved payments of $61.03 million for the four local subcontractors working at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Out of this, $56.78 million has been disbursed.

Tuesday's meeting was arranged to address this issue.

During the meeting, Elena Nikulina, deputy project director of Atomstroyexport, discussed the problems they are facing.

A senior official of the Bangladesh Bank on condition of anonymity told The Business Standard that the Rooppur power project's contractor has requested the central bank to suspend the condition of getting the central bank's approval for paying bills to local subcontractors. "But this is a legal matter, which is why an immediate decision has not been made."

The official also stated that the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is a priority project of the government, and therefore, all kinds of assistance will be provided for its timely implementation.

Earlier, on 25 July this year, AV Kosarev, head of Atomstroyexport's Bangladesh office, also made the same request in a letter to the governor of the central bank, Abdur Rouf Talukder.

Kosarev mentioned in his letter that the timely payment of bills to local contractors is becoming an obstacle to the construction work of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.

He also recommended allowing disbursal of contractors' bills following the evaluation of Sonali Bank only.

Under the current system, Atomstroyexport is obligated to submit work bills, vouchers, and progress reports to the Bangladesh Bank for verification before paying local contractors for their services. Payments are then deposited in dollars into the foreign currency account of the Russian company held with Sonali Bank. Subsequently, payments are made to local contractors, both in local and foreign currencies, through negotiations.

However, this verification process takes at least an extra month, causing delays in payments to local contractors and workers, claimed Atomstroyexport.