Rooppur nuclear power plant

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Rooppur nuclear power plant is a nuclear power plant under construction in Iswardi, Pabna District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh.

Project Details

Table 1: Unit-level project details for Rooppur nuclear power plant

Unit name	Status	Commissioning year	Nameplate capacity	Reactor type	Model	Owner	Operator
1	Construction	2024	1200 MW	Pressurized water reactor	VVER V-523	Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission [100%]	Nuclear Power Plant Company Bangladesh LTD
2	Construction	2023	1200 MW	Pressurized water reactor	VVER V-523	Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission [100%]	Nuclear Power Plant Company Bangladesh LTD

Table 2: Additional unit-level timeline details for Rooppur nuclear power plant

Unit name	Construction start	Commercial operation
1	November 30, 2017	2024
2	July 14, 2018	2023

Table 3: Additional unit-level capacity details for Rooppur nuclear power plant

(Read more about nuclear capacity definitions.)

Unit name	Reference net capacity	Design net capacity	Thermal capacity
1	1080 MW	1080 MW	3200 MWt
2	1080 MW	1080 MW	3200 MWt

Location

Table 4: Unit-level location details for Rooppur nuclear power plant

Unit name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
1	Iswardi, Pabna District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh	24.0656, 89.0453 (exact)
2	Iswardi, Pabna District, Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh	24.0656, 89.0453 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the nuclear power plant:

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General Overview

The Rooppur nuclear plant is located approximately 160 kilometers north-west of Bangladesh’s capital of Dhaka. Rooppur nuclear plant is anticipated to start operating in 2024. The plant will be Bangladesh’s first source of nuclear power, and each phase will provide a capacity of 1080 MW.

Background

The site of Rooppur nuclear plant in Pabna district was originally acquired for the construction of a nuclear plant in 1963, prior to Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971. Plans for this project were revived in 1973 under the first government of independent Bangladesh, and the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) was established to promote and regulate nuclear and atomic energy in Bangladesh. In 2005, the government signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with China in order to receive assistance and material support of Bangladesh’s Nuclear Power Action Plan adopted in 2001.

The site went through several planning iterations and capacity changes during its initial development. In 2007 for instance, BAEC proposed two 500 MW nuclear reactors to be built on the Rooppur site. Whereas in 2011, plans were initiated for a 1100 MW power plant. The Rooppur site gained attention from Russia with an interest in issuing loans and technical support for construction of the Rooppur nuclear plant, and in May 2010, Bangladesh and Russia signed an agreement for nuclear cooperation. As a result, site design and environmental assessment were then carried out by Russian company Orgenergostroy in 2015, and the two phases of 1200 MW each were agreed upon for construction. Once site work neared completion in April 2016, BAEC signaled the commencement of construction for Phase 1 in November 2017. July 2018 saw the commencement of construction for Phase 2. Once completed, the two reactors are anticipated to generate a total of 2400 MW of power, providing approximately 9 percent of Bangladesh's total electricity needs. As of October 2022, Rooppur nuclear plant is expected to come online by 2024.

Phase 1

Construction

Rooppur nuclear plant utilizes two VVER-1200 reactors, created by Russian company Rosatom. JSC Atomstroyexport (ASE), a subsidiary of Rosatom, was awarded as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the nuclear plant in 2015. In August 2019, TVEL Fuel Company of Rosatom was awarded the contract as the single source supplier of nuclear fuel for the entire lifecycle of both Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Construction contractors include:

• Inter RAO Engineering LLC (ООО «Интер РАО — Инжиниринг») - for pit excavation and construction of facilities
• Goldenberg Group of Companies - pipe laying and civil construction works
• Hindustan Construction Company LTD (HCC) - civil works for Phase 1 and construction of normal operation power building

Construction of both water cooled reactors began in November 2017, and October 2021 saw the installation of Phase 1’s reactor pressure vessel. In May 2022, pre-assembly construction for the outer containment dome of Phase 1 began initial construction. This work was performed by Trest RosSEM, the engineering division of Rosatom. Ultimately, equipment for both phases is supplied in large part by Rosatom, and exported directly from Russia to Bangladesh.

Construction Delays

In October 2022, the government of Bangladesh issued an announcement that the Rooppur nuclear plant was approximately one year behind schedule from its original commissioning date. These delays are said to be a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine.

On November 9th 2022, Nasrul Hamid, State Minister for the Ministry of Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources announced delays in construction of transmission lines for the connection of Rooppur nuclear plant to the national grid. Nasrul explained in a press meeting that the project does not expect any further delays and that “now efforts are being made to expedite the project implementation.” It is speculated that finalizing a contractor for river crossing transmission lines may be closely tied to these delays.

Sponsor

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) is the owner of Rooppur nuclear plant. BAEC was established in 1973 for the purpose of research and development of nuclear and atomic energy in Bangladesh, as an independent regulatory authority. BAEC is now the largest research institution in Bangladesh, and has led the implementation of the Rooppur nuclear plant. BAEC also facilitates the use of radioactive material for the improvement of food and water sanitation, as well as the use of radiation in medical equipment.

Financing

The total estimated cost of the Rooppur nuclear plant is $13.34 billion US dollars. Construction for the nuclear plant is funded largely by a loan provided by Russia, with an expected payback over 20 years. In 2013, Russia granted Bangladesh a $500 million US dollar loan to support the preliminary development and construction of the Rooppur nuclear plant. Russia agreed to provide a further $11.38 billion US dollars for late-stage construction, in July 2016.

In October 2022, Russia submitted a proposal for the repayment of the loans in Bangladesh’s ruble currency. The proposal included a recommendation for Bangladesh to carry out the repayment of the principal and interest through Chinese banks, due to international sanctions on Russia’s transactions in US dollars and euros. Bangladesh would carry this out by paying the loan in Chinese yuan, and China would pay the amount to Russia in Bangladesh ruble. There have been concerns that this plan may result in increased borrowing costs as a result of the currency exchanges. As of November 2022, this is an ongoing discussion between Russia and Bangladesh. While amendments to their initial loan agreement made in 2013 have been made, no formal or public changes to the repayment plan have been finalized.

Phase 2

Construction

On July 14 2018, Prime Minister of the Government of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the main construction of Phase 2 of Rooppur nuclear plant. This ceremony was held eight months after the groundbreaking ceremony was held for Phase 1. On October 24, 2022 Rosatom announced that the generator stator for Phase 2 was completed, paving the way for equipment to be installed on the turbine hall. This construction was performed by VdMU LLC Branch, part of Rosatom’s Engineering Division.

Rosatom is also responsible for staff training. World Nuclear Association stated that “by the end of 2019, more than 500 Bangladeshis had undergone an internship at Russia’s Novovoronezh II nuclear power plant,” which utilizes the same reactors that will be implemented in Rooppur nuclear plant. It is anticipated that in total, approximately 1500 people will be trained in Russia by the end of 2022.

Permitting

Phase 2 obtained licensing for construction from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), in July 2018.

Opposition

In November 2019, Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission questioned four officials from the Rooppur nuclear plant, along with 29 engineers of the Public Works Department, over alleged irregularities in purchases for engineer accommodation. This included concerns over high purchase prices for appliances such as refrigerators and additional lifting costs for items such as pillows, and television sets. The engineer accommodation included 966 apartments, with abnormally high furnishing costs. On December 12, 2019 several of those questioned were charged with corruption. In August 2020, Bangladesh’s court system refused bail to an assistant engineer with three cases of corruption related to this case. As of November 2022, there have been no further updates to this incident.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of global nuclear power plants, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Nuclear Power Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.