Preparations for loading fuel into the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant are now in their final stage. If all goes according to plan, fuel loading for Unit-1 will start in November. The “start-up” process, or commencement of electricity generation, may also begin by the end of this year.
The power plant sources said a team of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is carrying out a Pre-OSART mission before fuel is loaded into Unit-1 to assess the project’s safety. The 15-member team is led by IAEA Senior Nuclear Safety Officer Simon Philip Morgan, with Juraj Rovny, Head of the agency’s Operational Safety Section, serving as Deputy Team Leader.
This review is a key step in confirming the plant’s safety and operational readiness ahead of commercial production.
Project sources report that the Pre-OSART team is conducting a comprehensive review covering leadership and management systems, staff training and qualifications, operational readiness, maintenance procedures, technical parameters, operational experience and feedback, radiation protection, chemistry systems, emergency preparedness and response, accident management, and commissioning processes.
Dr. Zayedul Hasan, Managing Director of the Nuclear Power Plant Company, said the IAEA team began its on-site activities on Sunday morning and will continue until August 27. He added that the initial steps for loading nuclear fuel (uranium) will begin once the mission’s final report is received.
According to him, a total of 163 fuel assemblies (uranium) supplied by Russia will be installed in the reactor core. This fuel loading process will require final approval from both the IAEA and the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority.
Project Site Director Engineer Md. Ashraful Islam said, the power plant is now in the final stage of initiating the fuel loading process, which makes the Pre-OSART mission critically important for the plant.
The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, being built in Ishwardi, Pabna, with financial and technical support from Russia, has an estimated cost of USD 12.65 billion. The plant will feature two VVER-1200 reactors, each with a generating capacity of 1,200 megawatts. According to international regulations, the IAEA’s Pre-OSART mission must be completed three to six months before the first fuel loading, a critical step to ensure the highest level of safety at the plant.
Aman/