Russia’s nuclear power corporation Rosatom announced on August 4, 2016, that the company and the Bolivian Atomic Energy Agency (ABEN) have signed first commercial contracts on the project of construction of a center for nuclear research and technologies in Bolivia.
The first commercial contracts were signed pursuant to the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Plurinational State of Bolivia as of March 6, 2016 on Cooperation in the Construction of the Nuclear Research and Technology Center. The Center will allow Bolivia to start nuclear technologies development and apply them in science, healthcare, geology, agriculture, and other human activity areas.
In particular, the Center will help to launch the local production of radioisotopes, which can be widely used for diagnostics and treatment of cancer, thus making the nuclear health care more accessible for the Bolivian citizens. The use of the Center food and agricultural products irradiation technologies aimed at their protection and prevention of invasive pests and bacteria spread will help to increase the food storage life and provide solid ground for agricultural products export growth.
The Center will also be used for training of the highly-qualified personnel in the country’s nuclear industry and the entire region. The Center’s state-of-the-art equipment will be used to carry out research under the national nuclear and research programs boosting the development of science and education in Bolivia.
Kirill Komarov, First Deputy CEO for Corporate Development and International Business of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, stated: “The contracts that were signed mark the launch of actual work on the Center construction. The site survey means direct access to the site in order to collect data needed for the design and construction of the facility. Equally important is that Rosatom, as a responsible supplier, is very much concerned about the partner-countries meeting all the required conditions for nuclear power facilities operation and development and is ready to provide any assistance to our Bolivian colleagues in the development of the Bolivian nuclear infrastructure key components. In the near future we are planning to agree upon and sign a contract on the construction of the Nuclear Research and Technology Center in the Plurinational State of Bolivia and a contract on a package of life cycle services for the Center”.
Currently, over 20% of all the operating research reactors around the world are working in Russia. Rosatom has built more than 120 research reactors globally, with 20 of them located in the foreign countries such as China, Vietnam, Egypt, Hungary, Germany, the Czech Republic, etc.
