The sixth shipment of nuclear fuel (uranium) imported from Russia for the second unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant arrived at the project site in Pabna early Saturday.
Three specialized vehicles carrying the consignment reached the plant around 6:05 AM under strict army supervision and tight security from law enforcement agencies.
With this delivery, six of the planned nine nuclear fuel shipments have arrived at Rooppur five designated for the second unit and one additional consignment for refueling the first unit. Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom is delivering a total of 163 uranium assemblies for the second unit and 48 assemblies for the first unit across nine cargo flights.
Built with Russian technology, the Rooppur plant features two VVER-1200 reactors. The first unit is currently undergoing its "Power Startup Stage-C" phase following regulatory approval from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) on October 29.
During Stage-C, engineers incrementally raise the reactor's power to test key operational and safety systems, including the turbine-generator. Once these tests succeed, the first unit will be connected or synchronized to the national power grid.
Project officials aim to supply around 300 megawatts of electricity from the first unit to the national grid on a trial basis later this month, pending final regulatory clearances.
