Unit 1 of the Rooppur nuclear power plant, Bangladesh’s first, has reached criticality. The reactor sustained a controlled chain reaction for the first time, a necessary milestone before electricity generation can begin. Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam said power generation could start within two to three weeks.
According to accounts from Rosatom and the trade press, criticality was achieved on 11 October at 15:34, three days after the national nuclear regulatory authority gave its approval. Some news agencies are reporting it as breaking news only now. Fuel loading had already been completed, with 163 fuel assemblies placed in the core. Several weeks of testing at controlled minimum power now follow. The power start-up is set for 20 November, and grid connection is expected in the last week of the month.
The plant stands on the banks of the Padma River in Pabna district, about 150-160 kilometres from Dhaka. It comprises two Generation III VVER-1200 reactors, with a combined baseload capacity of 2,400 megawatts. Rosatom is building the plant under a general contract signed in December 2015, worth $12.65 billion. The first agreement between the parties dates back to February 2011. Rosatom will operate the plant during the first year, after which Bangladeshi operators will take over. Russia supplies the fuel and takes back the spent fuel.
The rationale for the project is both energy-related and economic. The country has more than 170 million inhabitants and rapidly growing electricity demand. It currently depends on imported gas and coal. Plant officials estimate that a single operating reactor could save about one billion dollars a year in fuel imports. India has also contributed: Nuclear Power Corporation of India trained Bangladeshi nuclear engineers.
A new phase is opening for Bangladesh: an infrastructure asset that provides low-emission electricity around the clock and diversifies the energy mix. If the schedule holds, at the end of November the country will join the group of nations that generate power from the atom, with the second unit to follow at the same site.
