Staff Correspondent

Transport Lock, a part of the nuclear fuel handling system for unit-2 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP), has been delivered to the construction site.

According to Rosatom, the Russian contractor of the nuclear power plant, the transport lock will soon be installed at the reactor building which is highly accurate and most labor-intensive work.

The transport lock is cylindrical in shape, and weighs 235 tons. It is 12.7 m long, and is 10 m in diameter.

The main function of transport lock is to ensure retention of radioactive substances within the containment, as well as fire protection. During normal operation of the power plant, the lock carries out the transportation of cargoes to the reactor plant maintenance level for equipment repair, intake of fresh fuel, and removal of spent fuel.

Implementation of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project—construction of the units and supply of equipment and installation, start-up, and adjustment work are continuing.

“This allows us to speak with certainty that Rosatom efficiently fulfills the responsibility undertaken towards its Bangladeshi partner and guarantees reliability and safety of its technologies for the well-being of the present and future generations of Bangladesh,” Alexey Deriy, ASE Vice President for Projects in Bangladesh, said.

Rooppur NPP is Bangladesh’s first nuclear power project and is being implemented with Russia’s technical and financial support.

The project hosts two units with a total capacity of 2,400 megawatt. The first unit is now getting ready for start-up. Once fully functional, the nuclear power plant is expected to ensure an uninterrupted supply of quality electricity and play an important role in maintaining basal load.

The latest generation 3+ Russian VVER 1200 reactors are being used for power generation. This reactor meets all international safety requirements. The Engineering Division of Russia’s state corporation Rosatom is the general designer and general contractor of Rooppur NPP.

There was a target by the previous government to start power generation from the plant by the end of this year, although last year it was inaugurated before completion of construction work by the then prime minister ahead of the general election.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Bangladesh Alexander Manatytskiy has said that under the present circumstances, there may be some delay in the construction process of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.

He said this following his meeting with foreign affairs advisor Md Touhid Hossain on August 15.

The Russian Ambassador said, "I can understand that there may be somewhat of a delay in the construction process of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plan, given the present circumstances. However, the delay will not be too long."

Experts and insiders of the project, however, believe that it might take much longer to start power generation from the project as the payment to the Russian contractor faces US sanction and the power transmission lines are not ready as well to transmit power from the project.