Second batch of uranium for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant lands in Dhaka
The second shipment of uranium from Russia arrived in Dhaka on a special plane on Thursday (5 October) at 11:40am at Dhaka Shahjalal International Airport
The second consignment of uranium for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant arrived in Dhaka today, a senior official associated with the operation of the power plant told The Business Standard.
The second shipment of uranium from Russia arrived in Dhaka on a special plane on Thursday (5 October) at 11:40am at Dhaka Shahjalal International Airport.
It will be taken to Rooppur by road through maximum security like the first run, said sources at the Ministry of Science and Technology.
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Earlier, the first shipment of uranium arrived in Bangladesh on 28 September.
This uranium will be officially handed over to Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant authorities on Thursday (5 October) afternoon by the director general of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) Alexei Likhachev.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin will join in the handover ceremony virtually.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi will also join the event virtually.
The authorities have already completed all the preparations for the uranium transfer process.
Five more consignments of uranium will arrive in the country in phases. After the first seven shipments, nuclear fuel will continue to arrive in phases. Each shipment will contain 12 bundles. Each bundle weighs 7.5 kilogrammes.
Rooppur power station has been upgraded to a nuclear facility.
The two units of the Rooppur nuclear power plant have a production capacity of 1200 MW per unit. Project Director Shaukat Akbar said that 90% of the work of the first unit has been completed. The progress of the second unit is 70%, he added.
He said that the first unit will be fully ready for fuel installation by next April. Uranium fuel will be installed once the transmission line is completed.
The project director also said that trial production will begin in September next year.
In the first phase, 20% electricity will be produced. After the success of the first phase, 50 %and 70% will be phased and the final phase will go into full production. It usually takes 10 months to go through these stages.
Commercial production will begin in early 2025.
