Bangladesh’s Russian-backed nuclear power project has entered its final stage, with fuel loading into the first unit of the facility in Rooppur beginning on Tuesday.
Dhaka’s Ministry of Science and Technology said the next step will be for commercial electricity generation to begin gradually on a trial basis at the plant.
Located around 160 km from the capital, Dhaka, the Rooppur facility is Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant and the most expensive infrastructure project in the South Asian country’s history.
It is heavily backed by Russia, with Moscow financing $11.9 billion in state loans for the project, estimated to cost up to $12.80 billion.
The project is being implemented by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, and involves the construction of two units, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts.
“Today, Bangladesh has joined the club of states that use peaceful nuclear energy as a reliable source of sustainable development,” Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev said. “For Rosatom, this project is another important step in the development of global nuclear power and in strengthening friendly relations with our foreign partners.”
The project, for which Russia is providing equipment, nuclear fuel, and engineering assistance, is expected to meet up to 12% of Bangladesh’s electricity demand.
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