Bangladesh Nuclear Power Plants

Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the history of the country, its estimated cost is about $13.2 billion. The project is being implemented with the help of Rosatom.

The Bangladesh government sees the construction of the nuclear power plant as a crucial component of the country's energy balance. The project is expected to help meet the country's growing energy needs and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, which accounted for more than 80% of electricity generation in 2022. According to the Rosatom report, the nuclear power plant will provide about 10% of Bangladesh's total electricity supply.

The Bangladesh government hopes to complete construction by 2024, with the first unit expected to begin commercial operation in early 2025.

2023

Transition to pay in yuan

In response to US sanctions, representatives of Russia and Bangladesh continued to search for alternative financing mechanisms for the Rooppur project. In April 2023, an agreement was reached on payment in yuan.

Ban on 69 Russian ships to enter the country's ports in accordance with EU and US sanctions

The Bangladesh government in February 2023 banned 69 Russian ships from entering their ports in accordance with EU and US sanctions during the conflict in Ukraine. Ships will not be able to import cargo, stop for refueling, anchor and use sea routes in the area. The restrictions will affect the construction of the country's largest energy facility - the Rooppur NPP, which is being built with the support of Moscow.

2018: Rosatom State Corporation received a license to build the second unit of the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh

"The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulator (BAERA) has issued a license to the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) for the design and construction of the second power unit of the Rooppur NPP, which is being built according to the Russian project," the ASE engineering group said in a statement published in July 2018 on the state corporation's website. The license was issued on July 8. Pouring of the first concrete is expected until the end of July

ASE Engineering Company, as the general contractor of the plant construction, fulfills all obligations for the construction of the Rooppur NPP. Currently, the construction of the 1st power unit continues, by the end of July it is planned to begin pouring concrete into the slab of the base of the reactor compartment of the 2nd unit, "said the head of ASE Valery Limarenko, quoted by the press service

The pouring of the first concrete at the first unit of the Rooppur NPP took place on November 30, 2017. Work is underway at the construction site on the construction of the walls of the reactor compartment, reinforcement of the walls of the reactor building and the foundation slab of the auxiliary reactor compartment, work has begun on strengthening the soil of the base of the evaporative cooling tower tower.

The contract for the construction of the country's first Rooppur NPP (two power units with 1200 MW VVER reactors each) Rosatom was concluded in December 2015. The station will be built according to a Russian project on the Ganges coast, 160 km from the capital of Dhaka. The foundation stone was laid in autumn 2013. The commissioning of two power units of the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh is planned in 2022 and 2023.

The total construction cost is $12.6 billion, the Russian export loan will cover $11.38 billion, not secured by the Russian loan $1.22 billion will be allocated from the Bangladesh government fund. The general contractor is Atomstroyexport.

US delays unloading of Rosatom equipment for nuclear power plants

At the end of 2022, there were some concerns about the future fate of the project. The ship "Ursa Major" was supposed to deliver equipment for the Rooppur project reactor and engine room to the port of Mongla in December 2022. But Bangladeshi authorities banned the unloading after the US embassy in Dhaka said the vessel was in fact a sanctioned Sparta-3.

After that, it was decided to unload the equipment in India. But the Russian ship with equipment for the nuclear power plant was not allowed to unload in the Indian port of Haldia. "Ursa Major" was forced to abandon Indian waters without completing delivery. The incident shifted the timing of the implementation of the facility by more than a month.

2017: Site preparation and foundation works performed by Belgian Tractebel

The construction of the nuclear power plant began in 2017, while site preparation and foundation work were carried out by the Belgian engineering company Tractebel.

2015: Bangladesh and Russia sign agreement to build two reactors VVER-1200

In 2015, Bangladesh and Russia signed an official agreement on the construction of two VVER-1200 reactors at the Rooppur site with a total capacity of 2.4 GW.