Rooppur Nuclear Plant Reaches Major Milestone as Unit-1 Completes Fuel Loading

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) reached a historic landmark on Tuesday as authorities successfully completed loading nuclear fuel into the reactor core of its first unit. This achievement marks the final countdown toward commissioning and national power generation.

The fuel loading process, which began on April 28, involved the precise insertion of 163 fuel assemblies into the reactor pressure vessel. Officials describe this operation as one of the most critical technical stages before a nuclear unit begins generating electricity.

Alexey Deriy, Vice President of Atomstroyexport (the Russian contractor), confirmed that the work met all international nuclear safety standards and operational regulations.

“The next stage involves installing the upper reactor unit and integrating in-core instrumentation systems,” Deriy stated. He added that hundreds of additional tests will follow to ensure the total safety of all process systems.

Once testing is complete, the reactor will be brought to its "minimum controllable power level" before gradually increasing capacity. These steps will lead directly to the power startup and trial commercial operations of Unit-1.

Located in Ishwardi, the Rooppur plant is Bangladesh’s first nuclear power facility. Built with Russian technical and financial support, the project features two Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,400 MW. The Engineering Division of Rosatom serves as the general designer and contractor.