Home ›› 26 Oct 2022 ›› Front
The first unit of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) might not be able to start commercial production on schedule in October 2023, as the construction of transmission lines essential for operation is witnessing serious delays.
RNPP transmission lines, which will have to cross both Padma and Jamuna rivers, may not see completion till December 2024, Power Grid Company of Bangladesh (PGCB) officials say, adding that the power plant may have to wait for more than a year to go commercial.
This is a problem, because a delay in going commercial could add the burden of significant additional costs on the plant. Moreover, the Russian contractors are set to supervise RNPP’s commercial operation for two years, and a delay would mean more expenses for them as well.
While visiting the under-construction plant in Pabna on October 18, Science and Technology Minister Yafesh Osman had told reporters, “We are launching the RNPP on schedule, but the construction of transmission lines did not witness much progress.
“If they [the PGCB] do not get the lines ready in time, the costs will go up. If that happens, who will take the responsibility?”
Meanwhile, PGCB Executive Director Md Yakub Elahi Chowdhury said, “The transmission line projects began after the construction of RNPP started, so the delay is normal. The lines will go across the rivers Padma and Jamuna, and this is a major challenge.
“We have appointed a contractor to complete the transmission lines, and the process will take until December 2024 to finish.”
On October 19, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the installation of a reactor pressure vessel in the RNPP’s second unit. On that day, she announced that the RNPP’s first and second units will begin power generation in October 2023 and July 2024 respectively.
What’s behind the delay?
A number of PGCB officials say the construction of RNPP transmission lines will last for at least December 2024, as there were significant delays in signing relevant agreements with the Indian contractors and investors.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the project back in 2018.
Indian Exim Bank, which is lending to the RNPP transmission line project under a Line of Credit (LoC), delayed the disbursement of funds. Besides, a certain group of local influential people had disrupted the acquisition process of land needed to install electric towers, insiders said.
The RNPP will need four 400kV and five 230kV transmission lines. The 400kV lines will stretch for 464km, on which 13km will go across the rivers Padma and Jamuna. Besides, 230kV transmission lines stretch for 205 km, and have to go across 7km of rivers.
According to PGCB officials, the physical progress of transmission lines stands at 45.50 per cent, and financial progress 27.15 per cent. The overall progress remains below 20 per cent till date.
In contrast, the overall progress of RNPP currently stands at 55 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC).
According to PGCB sources, India’s Transrail Lighting Ltd is the contractor for transmission line construction from Rooppur to Dhamrai of Dhaka. However, the company later sub-contracted the work of building electric towers to a Bangladeshi company.
PGCB Spokesperson ABM Badruddoza said, “A certain influential quarter is disrupting the sub-contractor’s land acquisition process. They plan to extort the company.
“Besides, building the transmission lines is complex work, and the USD shortage is delaying procurement of technical equipment.”
LoC conditions complicate matters
Although the RNPP transmission line project got approval in 2018, the construction began in 2020. The estimated cost for the project is Tk 10,981 crores, of which Tk 8,021 crores is coming from India’s Exim Bank under a Line of Credit.
According to the LoC’s terms of conditions, Indian contractors would have to carry out the transmission lines’ construction, and supply the necessary manpower along with key equipment.
This Indian LoC has many terms and conditions that are very difficult to fulfill, PGCB officials told The Business Post.
According to the PGCB sources, three Indian companies have been awarded transmission line work for RNPP. Among them, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Transrail have started working with two local contractors. The money being disbursed to local contractors are much less than the original allocation. When the Indian firms hired Bangladeshi sub-contractors, the cost of construction goods was low, but now it has almost doubled. This issue is causing delays in the construction process.
RNPP at risk of financial losses
This is not the first Bangladesh is witnessing a delay in the construction of transmission lines. The same problem plagued the Payra coal-fired power plant.
Payra began producing electricity in December 2020 although the full transmission line had not been completed. Under the circumstances, the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) paid a capacity payment of Tk 100 crore every month for about one and a half years. Experts say nuclear power plants are not like coal-fired plants that can be turned on or off anytime.
Once a nuclear reactor is started, it cannot be turned off easily. Unlike the Payra power plant, RNPP does not even have a partial utilisation of its total power generation capacity.
Speaking with the media last week, RNPP Project Director Shawkat Akbar said they would not be able run the plant until the power grid upgrade is completed as part of infrastructure development.
“Once we use nuclear fuel in the plant, we can’t stop production,” he added. The $12.65 billion Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, currently under-construction at Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna, is one of the largest mega projects in the country. Work started on the project in January 2016.
The RNPP has two units, each capable of generating 1,200MW of electricity.
BAEC, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, had signed an agreement with Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (ROSATOM) for the construction of RNPP back in 2016.
ROSATOMs subsidiary Atomstroyexport – a nuclear power equipment and services exporter – is the RNPP’s contractor. RNPP authorities say per unit of electricity from the plant will cost Tk 4.45, which is cheaper than power generated with other fossil fuels.
The RNPP is expected to reduce Bangladesh’s dependency on oil and natural gas.
