DHAKA, Feb 25: Russia had agreed to build energy-starved Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant, the government said on Friday.

Bangladesh's ministry of science said officials from the two countries signed an agreement in Dhaka on Thursday night for the $1.5 billion plant.

Russia would supply two reactors capable of generating a total of 2,000 megawatts of electricity for the plant, which would be ready by 2018, the ministry said. It would also supply fuel for the plant and take back the spent fuel.

Russia also would train workers to run the plant, to be built in Rooppur, 120km north of Dhaka. Relations between the two countries have been good since 1971.

Bangladesh's decades-old gas-fired power plants are unable to generate enough electricity for the country's 150 million people, with a daily shortfall of about 2,000 megawatts. Businesses complain that the shortages interfere with production.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank say Bangladesh's economy, which has grown by more than 5 per cent in recent years, will suffer if more electricity is not generated to support industries and agriculture.—AP