The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority, established under the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Act 2012, is the independent safety regulator. It licenses each stage of a facility's life, from siting and construction through commissioning, operation and decommissioning, and regulates radiation protection, safeguards and radioactive waste. The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission performs separate research and promotional functions. Commercial participants rarely hold the main licence themselves, but they must support the licensee's compliance, accept inspection and audit by the regulator, and keep the records the regulator expects to see. On nuclear new build work, that support role is contractual too.

It depends on how you deliver. A pure offshore supply of goods may not require a local entity, although tax, customs and foreign exchange rules still apply to the transaction. If your people will work on site for extended periods, or you will perform installation or services in Bangladesh, a branch, liaison arrangement or subsidiary may be needed, together with work permits for staff. Branch and liaison approvals now sit with Invest Bangladesh, which replaced BIDA in August 2026. We map the delivery model first and then confirm the registrations it actually requires, including tax registration, to avoid payment delays.

In states that have joined the international nuclear liability conventions, liability is channelled to the operator and capped, with suppliers generally protected. In Bangladesh, the 2012 regulatory Act includes nuclear liability provisions, but protection for suppliers also depends heavily on the contract chain: operator indemnities, waivers of recourse, insurance and any government undertakings. Suppliers on nuclear new build work should check whether the indemnity they receive is backed by a creditworthy party, whether it covers third-party and property claims, and whether it survives termination and the end of the warranty period.

Nuclear programmes impose layered quality regimes. The operator's licence conditions and the main contractor's quality programme typically require subcontractors to follow approved procedures, maintain traceable records, permit audits and notify nonconformances promptly. Counterfeit or fraudulent items are treated very seriously. These obligations are often attached as technical schedules that commercial teams do not read closely. We review them with the contract, so the subcontractor understands the cost of compliance, the length of record retention and the consequences of a quality failure discovered years later. On nuclear new build programmes, this review belongs at bid stage, before price is fixed.

Yes, in most cases. Main contracts between states or state companies may follow intergovernmental dispute provisions, while commercial supply and subcontract terms usually provide for international or domestic arbitration. The Arbitration Act 2001 governs arbitrations seated in Bangladesh and the enforcement of foreign awards here. The practical issues are often the seat, the governing law, confidentiality of sensitive technical information, and whether a dispute with a state entity raises immunity, consent or enforcement questions. We advise on drafting these clauses and on running claims when they arise. Nuclear new build clauses need care on all of these points.

Publicly reported arrangements provide for fuel to be supplied from Russia and for spent fuel to be returned there, under intergovernmental agreements. For commercial parties, the relevant questions are narrower: who is responsible for transport, storage, security and customs at each stage, what permits are required to move radioactive material, how costs are passed through, and what happens if a shipment is delayed. We advise logistics providers, freight forwarders, insurers and service contractors on the documents and approvals that implement those government-level commitments. Delay, damage and loss in transit should also be addressed by insurance.

They can. Where a programme involves counterparties, banks or technology from a sanctioned jurisdiction, suppliers from the UK, EU, US or other states must check whether their own sanctions laws restrict the work, the payment route or the supply of particular items. Bangladesh does not implement those unilateral measures as domestic law, but a foreign company remains bound by its home regime. We work with counsel in the relevant jurisdictions to assess exposure and to structure payment, export licensing and contractual protections, including sanctions clauses and termination rights, where participation is permitted. Payment routes deserve separate checking.

Decommissioning costs ultimately sit with the operator and the state, but the regulatory framework expects them to be planned well before operation ends. For participants, the issue is whether any part of that cost, or any long-tail obligation such as record retention, waste handling or site restoration, has been pushed down to them by contract. Planning should start at the licensing and contracting stage, when funding mechanisms, record systems and responsibility for waste streams can still be set clearly. We advise on those provisions for public bodies and their counterparties. Nuclear new build documents should say so expressly.