Construction of second reactor to start July 14

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is scheduled to inaugurate the construction of the second reactor of the country's first Nuclear Power Plant in Rooppur on July 14.

Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman said this after visiting the construction site on the bank of the Padma, some 160km away from Dhaka.

Talking to The Daily Star, the minister said the present government is determined to complete the building of the power plant as per the schedule. That's why the construction of the second reactor is going to be launched eight months after that of the first unit in November last year, he said.

There is no barrier to start the work as Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority handed over the construction license for unit-2 to Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) on Sunday.

Rooppur has two units or reactors, each with a capacity to produce 1,200 megawatts of electricity. For building the plant, Bangladesh signed a deal with Russia and India in early March this year. BAEC is the agency to oversee the entire work.

BAEC official Dr Shawkat Akbar, also project director of the power plant, said, “The construction of the first unit is going on successfully. This has inspired us to launch the work of the second reactor simultaneously.”

The government plans to commission unit-1 in 2023 and unit-2 in 2024.