Work on the preparatory phase of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) is nearing completion and the main construction is expected to begin in the second half of the current year, according to a release issued on Saturday.
A BSS report said a high-powered Russian delegation visited Bangladesh last week to discuss the main construction phase of the Rooppur nuke plant.
The delegation headed by Nikolai Spasskiy, deputy director general of Russia's State Atomic Energy Corporation-ROSATOM, came here to discuss the main construction phase, including preparations for the "first concrete" of Rooppur NPP, it said.
They discussed with Science and Technology minister Architect Yeafesh Osman, the prime minister's principal secretary Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury and chief coordinator for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the Prime Minister's Office Abul Kalam Azad.
The first of the two units is expected to go into operation in 2023 with the second one in 2024. The design of the innovative Generation 3+ power unit will be installed at the Rooppur NPP including the most powerful type of VVER-1200 reactor as well as a high-speed turbine specially designed for new-generation NPPs.
It provides the highest level of operational safety and fully meets all post-Fukushima requirements strictly set by the IAEA, the release added.
The delegation focused on various practical issues related to the beginning of main construction phase of the Rooppur NPP during the bilateral meetings.
Senior officials of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) were also present at the meetings.
The Russian delegation also visited the Rooppur NPP construction site where they held a technical meeting with the Bangladesh side that included the representatives of BAERA.
Other delegation members were Valery Limarenko, CEO of ?SE Group of Companies (general contractor for the Rooppur project) and Alexei Ferapontov, deputy chairman of Rostechnadzor, the Russian Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision.
Source: BSS