The first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is expected to begin supplying electricity to Bangladesh’s national grid this year, with full production of 1,200 megawatts (MW) anticipated by December, Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said on Thursday.
The minister shared the update following a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Khozin at the Planning Commission in Dhaka. Russia is providing technical support and assistance for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant.
According to Khasru, a key milestone in the project will be reached soon, as the process of loading nuclear fuel into the plant’s first unit is scheduled to begin on 7 April.
He said that once the fuel loading is completed, the plant will move into the next phase of operations.
Trial electricity generation at the facility is expected to begin between June and July. During this testing phase, electricity produced by the plant will gradually be supplied to the national grid as engineers and technicians monitor the system’s performance and ensure that all safety and operational standards are met.
Officials involved with the project explained that the plant will not initially operate at its full generation capacity during the trial period. Instead, electricity output will increase gradually as the system undergoes a series of technical tests and adjustments.
Once these procedures are successfully completed, the plant is expected to reach its full capacity.
Authorities hope that by December the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will be able to deliver the entire 1,200MW of electricity to the national grid, significantly boosting the country’s power generation capacity.
