Dainikshiksha Desk: Project deadline extended by 2 years, but authorities hope to complete grid line work before scheduled commissioning One of the two units of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will be commissioned this December if transmission lines are ready although the deadline for the project's completion has been extended to 2027.
The decision to extend the deadline by two years was made at a meeting between Russian and Bangladeshi officials in Dhaka in the second week of February.
Officials, however, said no specific date for the project's completion has been fixed yet.
The 2400MW power plant is being built in Rooppur, Pabna, at a cost of $12.65 billion. Of the amount, $11.38 billion will be provided by Russia as soft loans. It is the most expensive development project in the country ever.
"Since this is a turnkey project, time extension will not result in additional costs," Yafes Osman, minister for science and technology, told The Daily Star.
Construction work was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and delays in the construction of power lines, said several officials who attended the Joint Coordination Committee's meeting in February.
The original project proposal said unit-1 would be in operation on December 23, 2022, unit-2 on October 8, 2023, and the entire project would be done by December 31, 2025.
Construction of unit-1 formally began on November 30, 2017, and unit-2 on July 14, 2018.
In October 2023, the first Russian shipment of uranium reached the site on the bank of the Padma in Ishwardi, earning Bangladesh the recognition of being the 33rd country in the world to produce nuclear energy.
According to Project Director Zahedul Hasan, the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh will set up four lines by October this year.
"If we get the lines on time, we believe unit-1 will be in operation in December," he said.
The PGCB is building six lines with a combined length of 669km.
From unit-1, there will be a 60km transmission line to Baghabari, 102km line to Bogura, 144km line to Gopalgonj, and 2km line across the Padma.
From Unit-2, there will be an 147km line to Dhaka, 14km of which will be over the Jamuna.
"A mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency is likely to visit the site for an inspection... we will start training the key personnel from May," said Zahedul, who replaced Shawkat Akbar, the first project director, on April 16.
The plant also needs an operational licence before nuclear fuel is loaded, he said.
Shawkat, now chairman of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, which is implementing the project, said the deadline extension was not a matter of concern.
Delwar Hossain, project director of Transmission Lines for Power Evacuation of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, told this newspaper that installation of lines on land had seen over 90 percent progress. The line across the Padma saw 40 percent progress and will be completed by October.
The part over the Jamuna will be done by 2025, he added.
Shafiqul Islam, a professor of nuclear engineering at Dhaka University, said, "To lower economic risks and to maintain a good reputation, a project like this must be completed within eight years. Delays will give the wrong message to the international community about our capability to handle such a sensitive project."
Yafes Osman said, "The main construction work did not begin on time. There were obstacles like Covid and Russia-Ukraine war… Almost all similar projects around the world need at least 10 years to complete."
Nuclear power will be a game-changer in Bangladesh's fight against climate change, he said.
Russia's state-owned Rosatom is constructing the plant with two VVER-1,200 reactors. source: Daily star
