Laying foundation stone of RNPP at this stage?

IT is reported (DS, August 8) that the prime minister is due to lay the foundation stone of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) at Pabna in the first week of October, kicking off its construction work.
Traditionally, the foundation stone of a project is laid when the actual civil works start at the site.
It may be mentioned here that according to the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Act 2012, no construction can start at the plant site before approval of the preliminary safety analysis report (PSAR) and issue of the construction permit by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA). Any construction at the plant site without the permit will be a violation of the regulatory Act.
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) signed a contract with NIAEP-ASE of Russia for preparation of a feasibility report in last June. The report is due to be submitted by the end of December 2014. The submission of the feasibility report will be followed by several essential activities before we can start the actual construction of the plant. The phases include (i) evaluation of the feasibility report (3 months), (ii) preparation of the bidding documents (3 months), (iii) preparation of bid documents (3 months) (iv) evaluation of the bid documents, contract negotiations and contract signing for the construction of the plant (6 months), (v) preparation of the PSAR (3 months), (vi) evaluation of the PSAR and issue of the construction permit (3 months).
If we add the minimum time frames of each phase shown in parenthesis, it comes to 21 months. This means, we cannot start any work at the site before October 2016.
It is apparent that the foundation stone of RNPP, if laid in October, will collect dust for at least three years before the actual start of construction. Will this premature act bring any benefit to the project or credit to the government?
We know the prime minister sincerely wants to implement the project, but is she getting the correct advice on this matter? If she did, I have two simple questions to her advisers: (i) How could the construction of the plant start now without any contract and without any construction permit? (ii) How safe will the nuclear plant be, if we decide to violate the safety regulations before the start of construction of the plant?

The writer is a former chief engineer of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and author of "Rooppur & the Power Crisis."