Rooppur Production Timeline Delayed Again as Nuclear Power Will Not Join National Grid in August

❐ Staff Reporter

It was expected that the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant would experimentally connect 300 megawatts of electricity to the national grid this August. However, that goal is no longer being met.

Although the necessary technical tests have been completed, the ‘B-2’ commissioning license from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) required to move to the next stage has not yet been obtained, and without this license, it is not possible to start generating electricity.

As a result, the time for the first electricity connection from Rooppur to the national grid has been further delayed.

According to project sources, the work of adding nuclear fuel to the first unit began on April 28th, after which the fuel addition and initial safety tests were successfully completed.

However, the most important step before starting electricity production is to control the reaction in the reactor—where heat is produced through nuclear reactions—which is called ‘criticality.’ To reach this stage, Bayer’s B-2 commissioning license is first required.

Dr. Md. Zahidul Hasan, Managing Director of Nuclear Power Plant Company Limited (NPCBL), the company operating the Rooppur project, said that the first unit is in the final stage of power generation.

He said that fuel addition and 90 important safety and technical tests have already been completed with the approval of the regulatory body. Now, after the final inspection of the bay, it will be possible to proceed to the next stage once the license is received.

He also said that electricity production will not start immediately after receiving the license, but rather, controlled nuclear reactions will first be started in the reactor. After that, it will be possible to start electricity production experimentally after completing various tests and preparations for another four to six weeks.

Bayera Chairman Md. Mahamudul Hasan said that issuing licenses at this stage is a very sensitive and complex process.

He said the license will be granted only after the project’s safety, the results of all tests, and meeting international standards are confirmed.

However, he did not give a specific timeframe for when this approval could be obtained.

Former director of the Rooppur project, Dr. Shaukat Akbar, said that since there is no room for compromise on safety in a nuclear power project, each step must be completed perfectly before proceeding to the next step.

The country’s first nuclear power plant is being built at a cost of about $12.65 billion in Rooppur, Ishwardi, Pabna, with financial and technical assistance from Russia. It has two VVER-1200 model reactors, each with a generating capacity of 1,200 megawatts—meaning the total generating capacity of the plant will be 2,400 megawatts.