The long‑awaited fuel‑loading ceremony at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has begun in Pabna. All invited guests have already arrived at the event.
The formal fuel‑loading process marks a milestone for Bangladesh’s maiden nuclear facility. The plant premises are abuzz with activity as the ceremony gets underway.
Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, Science and Technology Minister Fakir Mahbub Anam, and representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency, and senior officials of the Russian government are present at the event.
Bangladeshi operators and fuel handlers, assisted by Russian experts, will use specialised fuel‑loading machines to place 163 fuel assemblies into the reactor core one by one.
Strict safety protocols are being followed to keep the reactor in a sub‑critical state, with neutron monitoring systems active throughout the process.
The plant is expected to be connected to the national grid by August. Officials say that, following initial testing, the first unit could begin supplying at least 300 megawatts of electricity within the next three and a half months.
The government aims to bring the first unit to full capacity by the end of this year or early next year, according to Science and Technology Secretary Md Anwar Hossain.
Once fully operational, the plant’s two units will generate a combined 2,400 megawatts, accounting for more than 10 percent of the country’s electricity demand.
Located on the banks of the Padma River in Ishwardi, the project has been built at a cost of $12.65 billion. It uses two VVER-1200 reactors, a modern Russian nuclear technology.
The Rooppur plant has five layers of safety protection: fuel pellets, fuel cladding, reactor pressure vessel, and two containment structures. These systems are designed to control radiation, prevent accidents and withstand natural disasters.
The project began in 2013 with support from Russia’s state nuclear agency Rosatom.
When construction of the first and second units was launched in 2017 and 2018 respectively, electricity generation was initially expected to begin in 2022 and 2023.
However, delays caused by Covid-19 pandemic, Russia–Ukraine war and setbacks in building transmission lines pushed back the timeline. The project deadline has now been extended to 2027.
Currently, about 5,000 Russian specialists and 20,000 Bangladeshi workers are involved in the project. Experts from several other countries, including India and Belarus, are also working on the project.
Authorities say skilled local personnel have been prepared to operate the plant, and responsibility will gradually be transferred to Bangladeshi experts.
