Reactor assembly completed at Rooppur nuclear power plant’s first unit

Assembly of the reactor has been completed in the first power unit of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. 

"This is a milestone for the project. The hydraulic testing of this reactor will be conducted in November," Project Director Md Zahedul Hasan told TBS.

"The assembly of the reactor for the second unit will be completed one year after that of the first unit," he added.

In a press release issued on 22 October, Rosatom's Engineering Division detailed the reactor assembly process, which included the installation of internals such as a shaft and an enclosure, loading of fuel element simulators, mounting of the protecting tubes unit and the upper block, and installation of sensors for the startup measuring system.

Rosatom further noted that the next step involves holding hydraulic tests to check the operability of the reactor unit equipment.

Located 160km from Dhaka, the Rooppur plant will feature two Russian VVER-1200 reactors. The Bangladeshi government signed a $12.65 billion general contract with Moscow in 2015 for the construction of the power plant.

In July 2016, Bangladesh secured an $11.385 billion credit agreement with Russia to cover 90% of the project costs.

Once both units are online, the power plant will have the capability to generate 2,400 MW of power. Currently, the first unit has achieved over 90% completion in physical and structural work, while the second unit is approximately 70% complete.

According to the World Nuclear Association website, the countries using nuclear energy include the US, China, France, Russia, South Korea, Canada, Ukraine, Germany, Japan, Spain, Sweden, Belgium, UK, India, Czech Republic, Finland, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Hungary, Slovakia, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Romania, Argentina, United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Iran and Armenia.