The fourth consignment of nuclear fuel (uranium) from Russia arrived at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project site under tight security on Saturday morning.
Transported in three specialised lorries, the shipment reached the site at 7:17am on Saturday under the supervision of the Bangladesh Army and other law enforcement agencies.
Asadur Rahman, officer-in-charge (OC) of Ishwardi Police Station, confirmed the arrival.
This is the third consignment for Unit-2, bringing the total number of consignments received at the site to four. Of these, one was for Unit-1 and three were for Unit-2.
Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom plans to transport nuclear fuel to Bangladesh in nine consignments. The plan includes 163 uranium assemblies for Unit-2 through seven cargo flights and 48 assemblies for refuelling Unit-1 through two cargo flights.
Built using Russian technology, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has two VVER-1200 model units. Unit-1 has recently begun its “Power Startup Stage-C” operations.
The chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) approved the start of Stage-C activities for Unit-1 on Thursday.
During this stage, the reactor’s capacity will be gradually increased to test the performance and operational safety of the plant’s equipment, turbine-generators and safety systems. After the tests, the generator will be connected to the national power grid through a process known as synchronisation.
If activities progress as planned, the project aims to experimentally supply around 300 megawatts (MW) of electricity from Unit-1 to the national grid in November, subject to regulatory conditions and BAERA approval.
