Ruppur Nuclear Power Plant

Ruppur Nuclear Power Plant
Location of Ruppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh
Country Bangladesh
Location Ruppur, Bangladesh
Coordinates 24°3′36″N 89°2′24″E / 24.06000°N 89.04000°E / 24.06000; 89.04000Coordinates: 24°3′36″N 89°2′24″E / 24.06000°N 89.04000°E / 24.06000; 89.04000
Construction began 2009
Construction cost 12.65 billion $
Operator(s) Rosatom
Nuclear power station
Reactor type AES-2006
Reactor supplier Rosatom
Cooling source Padma River
Power generation
Units planned 2
Nameplate capacity 1,200 MW
Average generation 2,4 GWh

Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is a planned 2.4 GWe nuclear power plant of Bangladesh. It will be the country's first nuclear power plant, and the first of two units is expected to go into operation in 2023.[1][2][3] It is to be built by the Russian Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation.[2]

Location

The nuclear power plant will be built at Ruppur, 200 km north-west of Dhaka, at Paksey union on the bank of the river Padma in the Ishwardi subdistrict of Pabna District, in the northwest of the country.[4]

Planned nuclear power reactors

Unit Type Capacity Construction start Operation
Rooppur 1 AES-2006/V-392M1200 MWeAug 20172023
Rooppur 2 AES-2006/V-392M1200 MWe20182024

History

The proposal was made in 1961.[5] Government took 253.90 acres of land in that year to build the plant. In 1963 the plant was approved. Discussions took place with the Canadian government in 1964 and 1966. Discussions with the governments of Sweden and Norway were also going on in those years. However, no real progress was achieved. After the independence of Bangladesh, the Government of Bangladesh started discussion with the Soviet Union in 1974, however no agreement was reached. In 2001 the government adopted a national Nuclear Power Action Plan.[5]

In 2009 the Bangladesh government again started discussion with the Russian government and on 13 February the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding. Rosatom said they would start construction by 2013.[6][7][8][9][10]

In 2013 a group of Bangladeshi scientists and the global diaspora voiced profound concern over the safety and economic viability of the plant.[11] Several separate issues were raised, from the unsuitability of the site to the obsolescence of the VVER-1000 model proposed, questionable financing arrangements and a lack of agreement with Russia over nuclear waste disposal.[12]

In 2015 the proposal was delayed by a year. Rosatom offered a two VVER-1200 reactor power plant, increasing output to 2.4 GWe.[2]

By December 2015 the The Daily Star reported that the estimated cost of the plant had climbed to US$13 billion, from statements of around US$4 billion made earlier in the same year.[13] Transparency International Bangladesh expressed concern on 28 December 2015 about the safety of the proposed plant, stating "Even reputed Russian environmentalists consider Russian nuclear reactors unsafe".[13]

In 2016 ground preparation work commenced. The $12.65 billion contract is 90% funded by a loan from the Russian government. The two units generating 2.4 GWe are planned to be operational in 2023 and 2024. Rosatom will operate the units for the first year before handing over to Bangladeshi operators. Russia will supply the nuclear fuel and take back spent nuclear fuel.[14]

Research

Bangladesh’s development strategy sees the country becoming a middle-income nation by 2021, in large part by emphasis on its science and technology sector to drive economic growth. The ministry of science and technology (MoST) estimated in 2014 that US$6.2 billion will be needed in the next decade to achieve the goals of Vision 2021. The Science and Technology Act 2010 is helping to boost this, and MoST is now allocating over $150 million per year to nuclear technology development as gas reserves become depleted.

The country has had a TRIGA 3 MW research reactor operational since 1986.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Cabinet clears draft law to form company to operate Rooppur nuclear power plant". bdnews24.com. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Delay for Bangladesh nuclear plant". World Nuclear News. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Rooppur nuclear deal signed with Russia", The Financial Express, 25 December 2015, retrieved 27 December 2015
  4. ↑ "Russian loan for Rooppur construction". World Nuclear News. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  5. 1 2 Nuclear Power in Bangladesh, World Nuclear Association, retrieved 1 January 2016
  6. ↑ Mahbub, Sumon (15 January 2013). "N-plant funding deal cut". bdnews24.
  7. ↑ "PM seeks more Russian investment in ICT sector". The News Today. 15 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "Collaboration in defence, telecom agreed upon". The News Today. 15 January 2013.
  9. ↑ "Bangladesh agrees nuclear power deal with Russia". BBC News. 2 November 2011.
  10. ↑ "Bangladesh to Get $1Bln Loan for Weapons". The Moscow Times. 16 January 2013.
  11. ↑ , Voice for Justice World Forum, 30 June 2013
  12. ↑ Karmaker, Arun (23 July 2015). "Rooppur Plant reactor technology being changed". Prothom Alo. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  13. 1 2 TIB concerned over Rooppur nuke plant’s safety, The Daily Star, 28 December 2015
  14. ↑ "Contract signed for preparatory work at Bangladesh's NPP". Nuclear Engineering International. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  15. ↑ Nuclear Power in Bangladesh
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