Installation of the transport lock has been completed in power unit 1 of the reactor building of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP).
According to Rosatom, the Russian contractor of the RNPP project, the transport lock will be used for the loading of nuclear fuel and its unloading at the power plant.
The transport lock is 12.7 metres in length and 10 metres in width, and it weighs 235 tonnes. It is one of the biggest pieces of equipment on the project in terms of dimension.
After the RNPP start-up, fuel simulators will be delivered through the lock, and it will ensure full maintenance of the reactor.
“Installation of the transport lock in the design position is an important stage for the completion of civil works in the reactor compartment building,” said Alexei Deriy, ASE vice-president and director of the RNPP project.
Further work on the assembly and adjustment of the transport lock will be carried out after the jacketing of the power unit 1 dome.
The nuclear power plant equipped with two VVER 1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2400MW is being constructed under the Russian design. VVER 1200 is an evolutionary generation III+ design that fully complies with all the international safety requirements.
The Engineering Division of Rosatom State Corporation is implementing the project as the general contractor.
According to the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), the 2400MW RNPP project, with two units, was undertaken in 2010.
A target was set by the government to complete the construction of the first unit in 2022 and the second unit in 2023.
But later the target was reset, and the first unit was to be completed by June 2024 and the second unit by June 2025.
