6th uranium shipment reaches Rooppur plant

The sixth shipment of uranium fuel from Russia for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has reached the project site in Pabna, marking another step towards the commissioning of the country's first nuclear power facility.

Three specialised uranium-carrying trucks arrived at the site at around 6:05AM on Saturday (November 14)under the supervision of the Bangladesh Army and tight security provided by other law enforcement agencies.

With the latest consignment, a total of six shipments of nuclear fuel have reached the project site. These include one additional shipment for the plant's first unit and five shipments for the second unit.

Earlier, Russia's state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom said it planned to transport 163 uranium fuel assemblies for the second unit in seven cargo aircraft shipments. Another 48 additional fuel assemblies, intended for the first unit's refuelling, were scheduled to arrive in two more cargo shipments.

Altogether, the nuclear fuel is expected to be delivered in nine shipments.

Built with Russian technology, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant features two VVER-1200 reactor units. The first unit has already entered the 'Power Startup Stage-C' phase.

On October 29, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) chairman granted approval to begin Stage-C activities at the first unit.

During this phase, the reactor's power will be gradually increased to test the performance of various plant equipment, including the turbine-generator system, as well as operational and safety systems.

Once the necessary tests are completed successfully, the first unit's generator will be connected to the national electricity grid in a process known as synchronisation.

If activities proceed according to plan, the project aims to supply approximately 300 megawatts of electricity to the national grid on a trial basis in December.

However, the process will remain subject to the regulatory authority's requirements and necessary approvals.