Metropolis Report-
Today (September 28), the first shipment of nuclear fuel for Unit-1 of Bangladesh’s first 2,400 megawatt (MW) Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) landed in Dhaka.
According to Dr. Shawkat Akbar, project director and nuclear scientist for the RNPP, the uranium arrived from Russia on Thursday afternoon and touched down at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
The uranium will now be carried by road to the project site in Ishwardi, Pabna. It was produced at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) in Russia, a division of Rosatom’s fuel manufacturing firm TVEL.
The project director noted that the Bangladesh Army and law enforcement officials have been tasked with providing extra protection during the transit.
In order to do this, the finance ministry promised Tk4,346 crore in compensation for any mishaps or harm during the road transit of nuclear fuel from Dhaka Airport to the project region.
On October 5, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev will formally present the shipment to the Rooppur project’s administrators. The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Ishwardi Upazila, Pabna, is Bangladesh’s first nuclear power-producing facility.
According to the project schedule, the 2,400MW nuclear power plant’s first unit is scheduled to start commercial operation in the first quarter of 2024.
The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission is carrying out the $13 billion project with Russia’s technical and financial assistance.
Before fuel is delivered, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) visiting team must certify safety precautions and a lot of crucial infrastructure, including power transmission lines and telecommunication, according to project officials.
In order to acquire nuclear fuel for the plant, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) signed a contract with TVEL, a state-run Russian corporation that produces nuclear fuel and mines uranium.
One-third of the nuclear fuel in the plant will need to be replaced every 18 months, according to sources at the BAEC.
