Bangladesh to build nuclear power plant

DHAKA: Bangladesh's emergency government said on Sunday it will build a nuclear power plant to meet electricity shortages that have sparked riots and hit the country's economy.

The International Atomic Energy Commission, the global nuclear watchdog, had approved a government plan to set up a nuclear power plant, interim Energy Minister Tapan Chowdhury told reporters.

"We have now got the approval from the organisation and already there is an offer from (South) Korea to finance 60 per cent of the project," he said, without elaborating.

Bangladesh faces massive electricity shortages that have hit its booming textile industry, with generation of 3,000 megawatts at peak times still 2,000 megawatts short of actual demand.

Last year, violence over power cuts in a northern Bangladesh town left at least 20 people dead in clashes between police and farmers who had demanded increased power supply for irrigation.

The country's military-backed government, which took over in January after an emergency was imposed and elections cancelled over vote-rigging allegations, has made tackling the power crisis one of its top priorities.

The World Bank in July last year estimated that Bangladesh needed 10 billion dollars in investment for its electricity supply in the next decade.