Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday inaugurated the installation of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) at Unit-2 of the 2400MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP), enabling Bangladesh to reach nearer to produce electricity from nuclear.
The premier virtually joined the opening ceremony from her official residence Ganabhaban.
As per the project plan, the first unit of the nuclear power plant will supply 1,200 MW of power in 2023 while the same amount of electricity will be available from the second unit in 2024.
The project has seen around 53 per cent financial progress and 55 per cent physical progress. However, the overall progress of the first unit is 70 per cent.
The Rooppur project is being implemented by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission with the technical and financial support of Russia. The project's construction cost, including manpower training, amounts to $12.65 billion, and 90 per cent of it is being funded by Russia.
Earlier, on October 10, 2021, the prime minister had inaugurated the RPV at the first unit of the RNPP, which entitled Bangladesh as the 33rd country to have a nuclear power plant for producing electricity from nuclear energy.
Science and Technology Minister Architect Yeafesh Osman and Director General of Rosatom, Russia's Atomic Energy Organisation, Alexey Likhachev spoke on the occasion while Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology Ziaul Hasan gave a welcome address.
