DHAKA - Bangladesh's cabinet committee on purchase has approved a proposal to establish a 2,400-megawatt nuclear power project at a cost of $12.65 billion.

The proposal was approved at a meeting of the country's cabinet committee on purchase with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair on Wednesday in the capital of Dhaka.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's ruling Bangladesh Awami League party said "Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant" to be constructed in the country's Pabna district, 216 km west of the capital Dhaka, was part of the government's vision to produce 20,000 megawatts of power by 2021.

The Bangladeshi government on Dec 15 reportedly finalized the biggest ever investment project in the country by inking an initial agreement with Russia.