General Director of Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom Alexey Likhachev paid a visit to Bangladesh last week, during which he met with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Ganabhaban Residence.
Recalling Russian support and assistance in the Bangladesh Liberation War and following the restoration of Bangladesh, Hasina expressed hope that Russian cooperation will continue in the future.
“Along with our colleagues from Bangladesh we are close to one of the most important stages of project implementation as importation fresh nuclear fuel to the NPP site,” Likhachev said.
This practically means Bangladesh will become a member of nuclear club of countries that exploit energy of the peaceful atom.
Rooppur: Bangladesh's First Nuclear Power Plant
Rooppur NPP is being built in accordance with a Russian project 160 km from the capital of Bangladesh Dhaka on the eastern bank of the Padma River.
Structure: 2 units with VVER-1200 type reactors
Total capacity: 2.4 thousand MW
Operation life of units: 60 years with the possibility of extension for another 20 years
In November 2011, Russia and Bangladesh signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in construction the first nuclear power plant in the country.
The general contract was concluded in mid-December 2015, with the contractor being a subsidiary of Rosatom Atomstroyexport.
At the beginning of 2017, Moscow provided a state loan of $11.38 billion to Bangladesh to finance the major stage of the building.
In November 2017, concrete was poured into the base plate of the reactor building of Unit № 1.
In July 2018, concrete was poured into the base plate of the reactor building of Unit № 2.
The plant began construction in 2021, and in April this year, it became clear that Bangladesh is going to pay for the construction in yuan.