Bolivia's Nuclear Energy Agency (ABEN) and Russian nuclear power corporation Rosatom have signed contracts that officially launches the construction of a $300 million nuclear research and technology center that will advance Bolivia's nuclear power ambitions.
Bolivia and Russia announced intentions to build a research center in October 2015. The contract signing this week allows for work to begin at a 50-acre site in the industrial city of El Alto 4,100 meters above sea level (13,451 feet), which will make it the highest altitude of any significant nuclear research facility.
“These contracts that were signed today 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,” said Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation First Deputy Chief Executive for Corporate Development Kirill Komarov.
Long term plans include construction of a cyclotron for use in radiopharmaceuticals and a gamma irradiation facility. The research center is to focus on nuclear research for medicinal, agricultural, geological and power generation uses.
The Center is also to focus on training Bolivians on nuclear power generation.
Bolivia has also signed nuclear cooperation agreements with France, Argentina and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Previously, in 2010, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced Bolivian cooperation with Iran for developing a domestic nuclear industry, but little has been said publicly about that in recent years, according to The Guardian.
Russia has a long history with nuclear research construction. More than 20 percent of the operating research reactors in the world are in Russia. Rosatom has built more than 120 research centers around the world, including facilities in Vietnam, China, Egypt, Hungary, Germany and the Czech Republic.