Mumbai: The fresh nuclear fuel has been loaded into the Unit 1 reactor at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (the project’s general designer and general contractor is the Engineering Division of the Rosatom State Corporation).
The loading began on April 28, 2026, and was one of the key stages in preparing the unit power startup. 163 fuel assemblies were sequentially loaded into the reactor core.
“The work was conducted in strict compliance with the initial core loading programme, process regulations, and nuclear safety standards. The next stage is installing the upper reactor unit and connecting all necessary in-core instrumentation systems,” said Alexey Deriy, Atomstroyexport JSC Vice President for Projects in Bangladesh.
“We will conduct further on hundreds of tests to prove the reliable and safe operation of all process systems,” he went on to say. “In the near future, the reactor is to be brought to its minimum controllable power level, which will result in a gradual increase in power. This work precedes the power start-up and trial commercial operation of the Rooppur NPP Unit 1.”
Rooppur NPP equipped with two VVER-1200 reactors of the total 2400 MW capacity is being constructed under the Russian design 160 km from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, in accordance with General Contract dated December 25, 2015. The Russian design of with VVER-1200 reactors has been selected for first NPP in Bangladesh.
Rosatom’s top-of-the-line VVER-1200 reactors have already proven their efficiency and reliability in the operation of reference power units. This is an evolutionary Gen III+ design which fully complies with all international safety requirements. Currently, six power units are being operated on the basis of such reactors, including four power units in Russia and two ones in the Republic of Belarus.
Construction of nuclear power plants under Russian technology is underway in Egypt, Hungary, Turkey and China. Survey work is underway at the site in the Republic of Kazakhstan as part of the construction of two VVER-1200-based units.
