On December 18, the first stage of operation commenced for bringing the reactor plant to the rated parameters.
During this stage, the operability of equipment and mechanisms will be tested, in particular, the reactor coolant pumps (RPC) will be launched and tested for the first time.
The result of the program will be the testing of the reactor plant at the rated parameters without nuclear fuel.
The program must confirm the compliance of the equipment with all the design parameters. After all the tests, the Unit will be ready for the start-up operations.
Commissioning of Rooppur NPP will ensure supply of environmentally friendly and safe energy providing for more than 10 % of the total energy consumption in the Republic of Bangladesh, which has an acute shortage of electrical power.
A. Petrov, First Deputy Director General for Nuclear Energy of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, President of ASE JSC said:- we have entered the final straight in terms of preparation of Rooppur NPP Unit 1 for the physical start-up;
- this is an important stage, under which we must carry out a large scope of works and tests to prove the operability of the process systems in all the operating modes;
- we fulfill all our obligations and guarantee the reliability and safety of our technologies;
- the first nuclear power plant in Bangladesh will support the country’s economy and will work for the benefit of its future generations.
Rooppur NPP equipped with two VVER-1200 reactors of the total 2400 MW capacity is being constructed under the Russian design 160 km from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, in accordance with General Contract dated December 25, 2015.
The Russian design with VVER-1200 reactors that had been successfully implemented at two units of Novovoronezh NPP was selected for the first NPP in Bangladesh.
This is an evolutionary Generation III+ design which fully complies with all the international safety requirements.
