Rooppur nuclear power plant cost increased by Tk 13,386 crore due to exchange rate adjustment

The project period has also been extended due to cost increase and delay in project implementation. In the original proposal, the project was supposed to be completed in December 2025. The new revised proposal proposes to extend the project period till June 2028.

The cost of the Rooppur nuclear power project has increased by Tk 13,386 crore or 11.84 percent due to the depreciation of the taka against the US dollar. According to the first revised proposal, the total cost of the project has increased to Tk 1,26,479 crore.

The original proposal of 2016 had estimated the cost of the project at Tk 1,13,930 crore.

The amount of Russian loan for the project in dollar terms—$11.38 billion—remains unchanged. However, its amount in Bangladeshi currency has increased from Tk 91,400 crore in the original plan to Tk 1,04,040 crore. That is, the cost has increased by Tk 12,964 crore due to the change in the exchange rate alone.

According to the revised proposal, $8.29 billion has been spent from the project allocation till June 2025, where the exchange rate per dollar was 80 taka. The exchange rate of the remaining $3.09 billion for the next three years has been set at 122 taka as announced by Bangladesh Bank on October 12, 2025.

Meanwhile, the original project proposal had estimated the expenditure from the government's own funds at 22,530 crore taka, which has increased slightly to 22,475 crore taka in the revised plan.

According to Planning Commission sources, the project period has also been extended due to cost increase and delay in project implementation. In the original proposal, the project was supposed to be completed in December 2025. The new revised proposal proposes to extend the project period till June 2028.

The revised proposal for the cost and period extension of the Rooppur Power Plant has been sent to the Planning Commission from the Ministry of Science and Technology. A review meeting will be held on the revised proposal on November 11, according to Planning Commission sources.

Officials said the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and the dollar crisis have affected the progress of the project. Due to this, the decision to extend the project period was taken at the 90th Joint Coordination Meeting held on June 3, 2025.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project is being implemented under an intergovernmental agreement between Bangladesh and Russia. It includes the construction of two units with a total capacity of 2,400 MW, supply of equipment, training and fuel supply. The power plant is located in Pabna district.

Other reasons for the cost increase

In addition, costs have increased in the construction work, import of equipment, technical consultants, security and training sectors. According to the new design, the cost has also increased slightly due to strengthening security infrastructure, environmental monitoring and cybersecurity systems.

Officials say the main purpose of this revision is not only to increase the cost, but also to ensure the sustainable and effective implementation of the project by ensuring international safety standards. The revised proposal has made adequate allocations for local and international training, monitoring units and consultancy sectors.

For example, the allocation for the CD-VAT sector of Rooppur center has been increased by Tk 178.40 crore to a total of Tk 378.40 crore. Several imported equipment of the contractor will be supplied in 2026 and 2027.

Tk 37.73 crore was allocated for 4,185 units of office equipment. Considering future office expansion and increase in market prices, the allocation has been increased to Tk 50 crore.

Tk 67.15 crore was allocated for 102 vehicles. However, as per the current demand, a total of 100 vehicles are required, for which the allocation has been proposed to be increased to Tk 100 crore.

In addition, 336 additional contracts and fuel and used fuel supply agreements have been signed for the project. An additional allocation of Tk 10.26 crore has been proposed in the revised proposal after calculating the additional work, overtime and committee honorarium of the officials.

Similarly, the expenditure has increased in various other areas. Officials also said that the expenditure has decreased in some areas.

First 1200 MW unit to go into commercial production next year

According to the revised project proposal, the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will start commercial power production in 2026.

According to the original plan, the first unit was supposed to go into production in December 2024 and the second unit in December 2025. However, due to implementation delays, the power plant could not go into production on schedule.

There is a plan to load fuel for the first unit to be put into operation on a trial basis in December this year. Partial production is expected to start at about 30 percent capacity by March 2026. After that, production will be increased in phases to reach full capacity, i.e. 1,200 MW, in each unit. This will take the total production capacity of the plant to 2,400 MW.

As of August this year, the physical progress of the project has reached 74.24 percent. Russian contractor Atomstroyexport is constructing the power plant.