Fuel loading begins at Rooppur nuclear power plant

Once the two units of the project are operational, the plant could provide a total of 2,400MW to the national grid

Fuel (uranium) loading has begun at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna’s Ishurdi Upazila.

The loading officially began at the first unit of the plant after 3:30pm on Tuesday, said Ruhul Quddus, the official in charge of the project.

The step paves the way for the start of experimental production at the country's first nuclear power plant.

Shawkat Akbar, former project director and former chairman of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, described the phase as a historic milestone and the most important stage of the project.

According to him, through the fuel loading, the plant is entering the main stage of electricity production.

In scientific terms, this is called “first criticality”, where the sustained nuclear reaction begins.

If the fuel loading and related tests go well, those concerned expect that approximately 300MW of electricity will be experimentally connected to the national grid from the first unit of the plant by the end of July or August this year.

According to the project plan, the power generation from this plant will gradually step up and begin supplying at full capacity by January 2027.

The project, built at a cost of $12.65 billion on the banks of the Padma River, will generate a total of 2,400MW of electricity from its two 1,200MW units.