Another shipment of uranium, the fuel for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, arrived at the facility in Pabna under strict security on Wednesday. The convoy entered the plant shortly after 10:00am.
It had departed from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka around 5:00am under the supervision of Bangladesh Army. Besides, members of Special Response Battalion (SRB), police and intelligence agencies provided security. The entire road route was under strict security, with law enforcement personnel stationed at key points.
Ishwardi Police Officer-in-Charge Asadur Rahman said the convoy reached Rooppur safely under strict security measures. Maximum security was enforced in Dashuria and Rooppur areas of Ishwardi, Pabna, as well as along Dashuria-Banpara Highway.
Earlier, a special cargo plane carrying the uranium arrived at the airport on Tuesday night, where officials from Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority received the shipment.
This is the third uranium shipment to reach Rooppur this year. The first two shipments for the first unit arrived on 3 and 11 October respectively. Wednesday’s shipment is for the second unit.
According to a Rooppur plant official, speaking on condition of anonymity, the nuclear fuel will be stored in a special shed in compliance with international rules and guidelines. Typically, some uranium assemblies need to be replaced one to one-and-a-half years after a nuclear power plant begins operation.
The Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said that more than 200 fuel assemblies are being brought in nine shipments for the first and second units. All deliveries are scheduled to be completed by December this year. Project sources said the shipments travel from Russia through Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India to reach Bangladesh. The fuel brought for the first unit in 2023 was installed in the reactor in May this year.
Project sources claimed two high-pressure tests on safety valves at 16 and 18 megapascals (MPa) have been successfully completed. If all goes well, authorities expect to supply 300 megawatts of electricity from the first unit to the national grid by this December.
Meanwhile, the Automated Process Control System has been installed in both units. Rooppur is Rosatom’s first project outside Russia where the Operator Information Support System is being implemented. According to Rosatom, on 13 October, the system supplied by Rosatom’s Automated Control Systems (ACS) features 43 systems comprising roughly 20,000 devices. These will monitor over 7,000 process-related parameters to ensure reactor stability and safe operation. The system uses digital twin technology.
ACS analyses data from 360 process-related systems, detects potential deviations and provides operators with recommendations based on more than 80 guidelines during emergencies.
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev earlier said, “Rooppur NPP is not only the largest cooperation project between Russia and Bangladesh, but also a pioneering project in terms of the use of modern automation and control technologies. For the first time, an Operator Information Support System is being implemented at a Rosatom-built plant abroad.” He added that the system will reduce response times, lower operating costs and serve as a reliable assistant for control room personnel.
Rooppur plant consists of two VVER-1200 Generation 3+ reactors, being constructed by Atomstroyexport, Rosatom’s engineering division.
