Rooppur nuclear power plant

Rooppur nuclear power plant is not only a gift to the people of Pabna but also a gift to the nation. It will be the country's first nuclear power plant. With the establishment of this nuclear power plant Bangladesh is about to enter the nuclear power world.

Considering the growing power demand in the country, there is no alternative to ensuring electricity supply in order to improve the socio- economic life of the country. At present, the country's energy and power sectors are mainly dependent on gas. Natural gas and coal reserves are very limited in our country. As a result, Bangladesh has to rely heavily on import-dependent liquid petroleum for power generation. The use of natural gas as fuel is disrupting the production of petrochemicals, disrupting fertilizer production for agriculture and importing LP gas. There is a lot of foreign currency spending on oil and coal imports. Electricity generation is increasing, but the problem remains. Farming and the establishment of new industrial plants, above all, we need more and more electricity to improve the living conditions of the country. In view of these issues, the present government has taken effective steps for the development of energy and power sectors through the establishment of a suitable fuel-mix. By 2021, the country plans to produce 6 percent of the total power generation by setting up a nuclear power plant and work is underway to implement it. This is certainly one of the best efforts of the present government.

Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is an under-construction 2.4 GWe nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. The nuclear power plant is being constructed at Rooppur (Rupppur), adjoining Paksey, in the Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District, on the bank of the river Padma, 87 miles (140 km) west of Dhaka, in the northwest of the country. It will be the country's first nuclear power plant, and the first of two units are expected to go into operation in 2023. It is being built by the Russian Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation.

The government took the time to implement the "Vision-2021" - the highest priority for the development of energy and power sectors - to ensure the production of 20.5 MW by 2021. In this connection, a consensus was signed between the Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Russian Federation on the 'peaceful use of nuclear power' on May 7, the signing of the Framework Agreement on May 28, and on November 12, each estimated power generation at Ruppur.

The government has allocated almost one-fourth of the development budget for fiscal 2019-20 to 14 mega projects .Of the mega projects, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant was given the highest allocation of Tk 14,980 crore. The project's total cost has been estimated to be Tk 113,092 crore and until February Tk 16,665 crore has been spent, according to planning ministry documents.

At first, a NPP is not cheaper compared to other plants, and it takes more time to be built up. There are safety concern if the plant is not operated correctly or conditions arise that were unforeseen when the plant was developed as happened at the Fukushima plant in Japan; the core melted down following an earthquake and tsunami. A huge amount of water will be needed which will increase cost price. To run a 1000 MW NPP, 185 MW electricity is needed which is one-fifth of its energy production. Then environmental issue comes forward, although it will emit lower carbon-di-oxide, it has many environmental risks such as radioactive waste storage and disposal and possible leakage into ground water. 

Nuclear power projects are considered to be a milestone in the development history of a country. Besides generating power, these projects have spin-off benefits for the overall socio-economic development of a nation. Bangladesh has embarked upon the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project to realise the enormous potential of using snuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Successful completion, operation and maintenance of the project will make our nuclear aspirations come true.