Bangladesh gets first uranium shipment from Russia for its Moscow-built nuclear power plant
Bangladesh has received the first uranium shipment from Russia to fuel the country’s only nuclear power plant, still under construction by Moscow
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh on Thursday received the first uranium shipment from Russia to fuel the country's only nuclear power plant, still under construction by Moscow. Once finished, the plant is expected to boost Bangladesh’s national grid and help the South Asian nation's growing economy.
The Rooppur power plant will produce 2,400 megawatts of electricity — powering about 15 million households — when the twin-unit facility goes fully online. The plant is being constructed by Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation. Moscow has funded the construction with a $11.38 billion loan, to be repaid over two decades, starting from 2027.
Once Rooppur starts production, Bangladesh will join more than 30 countries that run nuclear power reactors.
The uranium, which arrived in Bangladesh late last month, was handed over to the authorities at a ceremony in Ishwardi, where the plant is located, in the northern district of Pabna on Thursday. Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin joined the ceremony — both by video link.
Putin said the plant will cover about 10% of Bangladesh’s energy consumption when launched. He said more than 20,000 people worked on its construction and that over 1,000 people were trained to operate it.
“Together with you, we are building not just a nuclear power plant, but the entire atomic industry,” Putin said.
Hasina said that Russia has promised to take back the spent fuel from Rooppur and she also assured her nation that the plant is safely constructed against damage from natural disasters.
On Thursday,
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