The license is issued for a period of 12 months, from July 2016 till July 2017. As soon as the preliminary phase is finished, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) expects to obtain a license for the main construction phase to kick off presumably in August 2017. According to Shawkat Akbar, Rooppur Project Director, the team has completed 80% of the on-site preparations, which included a site survey, environmental monitoring, arrangement of a construction machinery yard, and development of project design documents. All the preparations are set to be completed in December.

In late June, Nikolai Spassky, Rosatom’s Deputy CEO, Alexei Ferapontov, Deputy Head of the Russian nuclear regulator Rostechnadzor, and Valery Limarenko, CEO of Rosatom’s ASE Engineering Group, held the second meeting of the Rooppur construction steering committee in Bangladesh. The discussion was focused on the entry of the general contract for Rooppur NPP into force and the beginning of the main construction phase. The representatives of Rosatom, Rostechnadzor and ASE Group visited the Rooppur NPP construction site to have a meeting with site managers. Decisions were made to arrange for the foundation concreting to begin by the middle of next year.

A few days ago, the Government of Bangladesh approved an agreement with Russia to provide a loan for the construction of Rooppur NPP. Russia will allocate 11.38 billion US dollars out of 12.65 billion, with the rest to come from the government fund of Bangladesh.

The loan will be repaid over 30 years, starting from 15 March 2027, with a 10-year grace period. Repayments will be made in equal installments twice a year, on 15 March and 15 September. The loan will be drawn down in 2017–2024. The loan agreement is expected to be signed in late July or early August.

Rooppur NPP will feature two VVER-1200 reactor units based on the AES-2006 design. According to Bangladeshi media, Units 1 and 2 are scheduled to come on-line in 2023 and 2024 respectively.