In a press release issued yesterday (22 October), Rosatom's Engineering Division said the reactor assembly process comprised the installation of internals, such as a shaft and an enclosure, loading of fuel element simulators, mounting of the protecting tubes unit and the upper block, and installation of sensors of the startup measuring system.

The next step is to hold hydraulic tests to check the reactor unit equipment operability, Rosatom added.

The Rooppur plant, which is located 160 kilometres away from Dhaka, features two Russian VVER-1200 reactors.

The government signed a $12.65 billion general contract (GC) in 2015 with Moscow for building the nuclear power plant.

Bangladesh signed a credit agreement with Russia to obtain $11.385 billion credit for RNPP in July 2016. The credit covers 90% of the project cost.

The Ministry of Science and Technology recently said the first unit of the plant may come into operation in July 2024 and the second unit in July 2025.

Once the two units become operational, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will be capable of generating 2,400 MW of power. The first unit has reached over 90% completion in terms of physical and structural work, while the second unit has progressed to about 70% completion.

According to the World Nuclear Association website, the countries using nuclear energy include the US, China, France, Russia, South Korea, Canada, Ukraine, Germany, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, UK, India, Czech Republic, Finland, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Hungary, Slovakia, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Romania, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Iran and Armenia.

News Link: Reactor assembly completed at first power unit of Rooppur nuclear plant