The Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase with Bangladesh’s Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal to deliver nuclear fuel for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant from Russia. Rosatom will provide nuclear fuel for the NPP throughout its entire service life.

A third of fuel rods in each reactor will be replaced every eighteen months, with fuel for the first three reloads to be provided by Rosatom free of charge. The parties also agreed on the price of sold uranium to stand at USD 500 per kilogram. This price will stay the same until 2027 and then be revised every 10 years.

Several of Rosatom’s divisions are involved in the Rooppur project. Company’s engineering division is responsible for the on-site design and construction. Machinery and systems for the nuclear and turbine islands are supplied by Rosatom’s mechanical division AtomEnergoMash. Fuel will be supplied by TVEL Fuel Company.

The first concrete pouring ceremony at the second unit was held a year ago on July 14, 2018, ahead of schedule. Speaking at the ceremony, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the country’s first nuclear power plant with the total capacity of 2,400 MW would generate around 10% of the national energy mix.

Electrification of Bangladesh is going rapidly. In 2009, just a decade ago, electricity was available in only 47 percent of households, while today 93 percent of the population has access to power. According to the government plans, electrification coverage will reach 100% already in 2021.

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Featuring two Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,400 MW, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is constructed 160 km away from Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka under the general construction contract signed on December 25, 2015. The reference design for the first nuclear station in Bangladesh is VVER-1200 technology implemented at Novovoronezh and Leningrad NPPs. Rooppur Unit 1 is scheduled for commissioning in 2023, to be followed by Unit 2 in 2024.