Fifth batch of uranium reaches Rooppur plant

The fifth consignment of uranium, the nuclear fuel for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, has arrived in Pabna's Rooppur under a special security arrangement.

A convoy carrying uranium entered the project area around 9:25am on Friday.

The last consignment of the fresh nuclear fuel reached Rooppur on 20 October.

Confirming the development, Biplob Kumar Goswami, Pabna additional superintendent of police (Ishwardi Circle), said the convoy carrying uranium left the capital in the morning and crossed the Bangabandhu Bridge and reached Rooppur project area via Banpara in Natore and Dasuria in Ishwardi of Pabna.

Earlier on 28 September, the first consignment of fuel for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Project arrived in Bangladesh. The next day, on 29 September, fuel was taken to the project area under special security measures.

The consignment was formally handed over in the presence of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin through a video conference on 5 October, marking Bangladesh's entry to the world's elite club of nuclear power producers.

On 15 January 2013, an agreement regarding a State Export Credit of $500 million was signed for carrying out preparatory phase construction works of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.

The government signed a $12.65 billion general contract in 2015 with Moscow for building the nuclear power plant.

Bangladesh signed a credit agreement with Russia to obtain $11.385 billion credit for RNPP in July 2016. The credit covers 90 percent of the project cost.

The Ministry of Science and Technology recently said that the first unit of the plant may come into operation in July 2024 and the second unit in July 2025.

Once the two units become operational, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will be capable of generating 2,400 MW of power. The first unit has reached over 90 percent completion in terms of physical and structural work, while the second unit has progressed to about 70 percent completion.

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, the UK, India, Czech Republic, Finland, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Hungary, Slovakia, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Romania, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, Belarus, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Iran and Armenia.