Bangladesh's Rooppur 1 achieves criticality
Regulator's go-ahead came three days earlier; power start-up is scheduled for November 20, per Rosatom's Strana Rosatom.
Key facts
- Contract for two units at Rooppur, 160 km from Dhaka, worth USD12.65 billion
- Construction began November 2017 for unit 1, July 2018 for unit 2; 60-year initial life cycle
- Operating licence issued April 16; 163 fuel assemblies loaded by May
- Automated process control systems installed at both units, Rosatom announced October 12
The first unit at Bangladesh's Rooppur nuclear power plant reached criticality, a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, at 15:34 on October 11. The project's official Facebook account said the step came three days after the national atomic regulator gave its go-ahead.
Power start-up is scheduled for November 20, according to Strana Rosatom, the in-house publication of Russia's state nuclear corporation. Tests and checks to confirm that equipment and systems work as designed will run before then, with further tests as output is raised in stages.
The start-up followed talks in Moscow on Friday between Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev and Bangladesh's Science and Technology Minister Fakir Mahbub Anam.
Two reactors ordered in 2011
Rosatom signed an agreement in February 2011 to build two reactors at Rooppur, about 160 kilometers from Dhaka, for the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. The initial contract, worth USD12.65 billion, was signed in December 2015. Construction of unit 1 began in November 2017 and of unit 2 in July 2018. The units have an initial 60-year life cycle, with a 20-year extension possible.
The Bangladesh Atomic Regulatory Authority issued a first site license in June 2016, allowing preliminary site works including geological surveys. Turbine installation at unit 1 was completed in March 2025, along with hydraulic tests of the primary circuit, followed by hot functional tests. The Bangladesh Nuclear Regulatory Authority issued an operating license on April 16, and loading of 163 fuel assemblies into the unit was completed in May. The first batch of nuclear fuel arrived at the site in October 2023.
Control systems completed at both units
Rosatom said on October 12 that JSC Rosatom Automated Control Systems had completed installation of automated process control systems at the first and second Rooppur units. Likhachev said the plant is Rosatom's first foreign one to use its Operator Information Support System.