Ventilation stack installed at reactor building of Rooppur NPP unit-1 

The ventilation stack has been installed in the design position of the reactor building at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant's unit-1 recently.

Rosatom, the Russian contractor of the project, informed that the extremely difficult process of installation of the 67-metre long and of 100-ton weight structure took 8 hours to complete and a powerful crane was used for the purpose.

"After installation of the ventilation stack, which is designed for removal of excessive heat and moisture from the reactor compartment, the reactor building has reached the elevation of +99.500," said Alexey Deriy, Director for Rooppur NPP Construction Project.

"If we take into account the lightning rod arrester, it is now +101.000, being exceeded only by the 175-metre evaporation cooling towers", he added.

Currently, he said, works for installation of large-size equipment are underway at the Power Unit.

"In August, we will continue the installation of the passive heat removal system elements – one of the most important safety systems in the reactor building", he added.

Rooppur NPP is under construction at Ishwardi upazila of Pabna district. Two units of the project with a total capacity of 2,400 MWe are being constructed under Russian design.

Each unit will be equipped with the Generation 3+ VVER-1200 reactor that fully complies with all the international safety requirements.

Fresh nuclear fuel for unit-1 of the plant is expected to arrive in Bangladesh by the end of September 2023.

The Engineering Division of Rosatom State Corporation is implementing the project as the General Contractor.

The 2400 MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project, with two units, was undertaken in 2010 by the Bangladesh government.

A target was set by the government to complete the construction of the first unit in 2022 and second unit in 2023.

But later the target was reset, and the first unit was to be completed by June 2024 and second unit by June 2025.