Dhaka, Jan. 25 -- The government has approved a Tk 255.92 billion increase in cost of the the Rooppur nuclear power plant construction project at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

The entire cost increase will be met from project loans. As a result, the cost of the project has increased from around Tk 1.14 trillion to Tk 1.39 trillion.

The approval was provided at an ECNEC meeting chaired by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus on Sunday.

Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant is being built in Pabna's Rooppur with Russian assistance. The two units at the plant are to generate 1,200MW and 2,400MW of power.

The government was to finance 10 percent of the project's construction cost while the remaini...