All refuelling fuel for Rooppur Unit-1 arrives, shipments for Unit-2 begin
Photo: Collected
All shipments of the new nuclear fuel needed for the first refuelling of Unit-1 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant have arrived in Bangladesh. At the same time, Russia’s state atomic energy corporation Rosatom has also begun supplying fuel for the initial fuel loading of the Unit-2 reactor.
Rosatom disclosed the information in a press release on Thursday morning (29 October).
According to the release, the first shipment of fuel assemblies made at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant under Rosatom’s fuel division recently arrived in Bangladesh on a special cargo flight. The shipment was sent for the initial loading of Unit-2’s VVER-1200 reactor.
Before that, all shipments of new fuel for the first refuelling of Unit-1 had reached Bangladesh from Siberia. The refuelling is due to take place once the reactor’s first fuel cycle ends.
After arriving at the plant site, the fuel containers are kept in the designated fresh nuclear fuel storage facility. Mandatory visual and instrument-based inspections will be carried out to ensure that each fuel assembly meets the technical specifications and nuclear safety requirements.
The release added that these inspections will be carried out by a joint commission in strict compliance with nuclear and radiation safety rules. It will include representatives of Bangladesh, the general contractor and the fuel manufacturer.
According to Rosatom, the corporation’s engineering division completed the initial fuel loading into the core of Rooppur Unit-1’s VVER-1200 reactor. This month, the reactor reached the minimum controllable power level. This is seen as an important step towards power generation.
Before being connected to the national grid and starting trial commercial operation, the unit must complete tests in which its power is raised step by step. It will also need the necessary approvals from the regulatory authority.
Rooppur, the country’s first nuclear power plant, has two Russian-designed Generation III+ (3+) VVER-1200 reactors. The plant’s combined generation capacity from the two units is 2,400 megawatts. Rosatom’s engineering division is the project’s general designer and general contractor.
Background
According to a World Nuclear News report of 12 May 2026, loading of 163 fuel assemblies into Rooppur’s first unit began on 28 April after the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority granted the operating licence on 16 April 2026.
According to NPCBL Managing Director Md Zahedul Hasan, the controlled chain reaction, or ‘first criticality’, began in the first unit’s reactor at 3:34pm on 11 October 2026, bdnews24.com reported that day. The same report said that although those involved in the project hoped for trial power supply to the grid in late December, no date had been finalised.
By the numbers
According to bdnews24.com on 11 October 2026, the project’s total cost is Tk 1 lakh 38 thousand 686 crore; the cost has risen by about Tk 26 thousand crore due to changes in the exchange rate.
According to World Nuclear News, the original contract signed in December 2015 was worth $12.65 billion.
District angle
According to bdnews24.com, the plant is located at Rooppur in Ishwardi, Pabna district. The original deadline for completing the project was December 2025; after two extensions, it is now June 2028.
At a glance
According to a World Nuclear News report of 12 May 2026, Rosatom is building Rooppur through its subsidiary Atomstroyexport. Construction of the first unit began in November 2017 and the second in July 2018; the plant has a design life of 60 years.
Sources
Background sources: World Nuclear News, 12 May 2026; bdnews24.com, 11 October 2026
