Fifth shipment of uranium arrives at Rooppur plant

The fifth shipment of uranium from Russia for the second unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has arrived at the project site in Pabna.

With this latest delivery, a total of six shipments have reached the project site, including one additional shipment for the first unit and five for the second unit.

Project Site-in-Charge Ruhul Quddus confirmed the development.

Three specialised trucks carrying the nuclear fuel arrived at the project site at around 6:05 am on Saturday (November 14), under army supervision and tight security provided by other law enforcement agencies.

Earlier, Russia's state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom said it planned to bring 163 uranium fuel assemblies for the second unit in seven cargo aircraft shipments, along with another 48 additional uranium assemblies in two cargo shipments for refuelling the first unit. The nuclear fuel is scheduled to arrive in a total of nine shipments.

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

On October 29, the chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) approved the commencement of Stage-C activities at the first unit.

During Stage-C, the reactor's capacity will be gradually increased to test the performance of various plant equipment, the turbine-generator, and operational and safety systems. Once the required tests are successfully completed, the generator of the first unit will be connected to the national power transmission grid, a process known as synchronisation.

If everything proceeds according to plan, the authorities aim to supply around 300 megawatts of electricity from the first unit to the national grid on a trial basis in November. However, the process will remain subject to the conditions and necessary approvals of the regulatory authority.