Image: The logo of Russian state nuclear monopoly Rosatom is pictured at the World Nuclear Exhibition 2014, the trade fair event for the global nuclear energy sector, in Le Bourget, near Paris October 14, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
LA PAZ (Reuters) – Bolivia and Russia’s state-owned atomic energy corporation Rosatom said on Sunday they had signed a provisional agreement for the construction of $300 million nuclear complex in the Andean nation.
Under the terms of the accord, which needs to be approved by Bolivia’s Congress, Rosatom will help Bolivia develop infrastructure for its embryonic nuclear program.
The center will include a research reactor, a cyclotron for radiopharmaceuticals and a multi-purpose gamma irradiation plant. Opposition politicians have criticized the project over fears of environmental risks.
“Our brother President Vladimir Putin has promised me the transfer of Russian know-how and technology,” Bolivia’s leftist leader Evo Morales said at the signing.
Morales urged Bolivia’s Congress to greenlight the deal within two weeks. The complex will be built in El Alto, a satellite city on the outskirts of La Paz.
(Reporting by Daniel Ramos; Editing by Richard Lough, editing by David Evans)
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