Commissioning of RNPP may be delayed: Nasrul

Staff reporter :
The operation of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) ‘Unit One’ may be delayed by one year. It may start towards the end of December,2024.
As per the schedule, the first unit of the 2400MW nuclear power plant was to be commissioned by December 2023.
The State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid visited the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant site at Rooppur under Paksey Union of Ishwardi Upazilla in Pabna District on Thursday, 29 December.
While addressing the media after visiting the project site, Nasrul Hamid said “The delay is due to the impact of Covid-19. But we are trying to recover the lost time.”
The 1,200MW first unit of the plant has processed 87 percent. Although the work of power transmission line has also been delayed to start, the overall progress of the project is satisfactory, he added.
“The lifetime of the nuclear power plant will be at least 60 years and the power price will remain stable also for 60 years. We hope that per unit price of power will be Tk four to five, which is lower than other generated electricity,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile, The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is the first nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. The Engineering Division of Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation is implementing the Rooppur project. The latest generation 3+ Russian VVER 1200 reactor will be used for power generation.
The US$12.65 billion project is being constructed with Russian loan amounting US$11.38 billion and the rest will be financed by the Bangladesh government.