Bangladesh Starts Constructing its First Nuclear Power Plant
With a ceremony held today, Bangladesh started the construction of its first nuclear power plant at Rooppur. The pouring of the first nuclear safety-related concrete for the power plant made Bangladesh the third ‘newcomer’ country to start constructing its first nuclear power reactor in three decades – following the United Arab Emirates in 2012 and Belarus in 2013. The IAEA continues to provide extensive support to Bangladesh in developing its nuclear power infrastructure.
The construction works follow the receipt of a design and construction licence for the first unit of the plant, issued by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority on 4 November 2017. The two VVER type (AES-2006) pressurized water reactors are to be supplied by Atomstroyexport of Russia. Each with a 1200 MW(e) gross electricity generation capacity, the reactors are planned to be commissioned in 2023 and 2024, respectively.