40pc of Rooppur Nuke Power Plant project completed

Even though the Covid-19 pandemic is showing no sign of stopping, there has been remarkable progress in the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project, with nearly 40 percent of its construction work being completed.

A reactor is likely to be set up in the first unit building by September 16, Yafes Osman, minister of Science and Technology, told The Daily Star.

During the pandemic over the last one year, the power plant project has seen a remarkable progress as per the schedule, the minister said while visiting the site recently.

Alongside the first unit, work on the second unit is also progressing smoothly, the minister said.

The reactor pressure vessel, complete with a nuclear reactor and steam generator -- the key components of the first unit of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant -- had arrived on October 20 last year.

"Since the start of the pandemic, Rooppur nuke plant's work has been running following health guidelines… We have taken steps to bring all of the employees of the project under vaccination programme," said Yafes Osman.

The Russians working at the project are getting Russian vaccine "Sputnik V" while its Bangladeshi officials and engineers are also getting the same vaccine with the help of Russia, the minister said.

Talking to this newspaper, Dr Shawkat Akber, project director of Rooppur nuclear power plant, said over 30,000 workers -- including over 25,000 locals -- are working for the project everyday. The project authority is strictly following hygiene rules for all of them.

"For workers' safety, we have opened observation and isolation centres at the project site," said the project director.

"We are regularly monitoring every worker's health twice a day. If anybody is infected or found with any symptom, they and those around them are taken to the centres. They are also provided with necessary medical support," he added.

Dr Shawkat said they are not pausing the project even as the pandemic worsens. "We have already completed 38 to 40 percent of the country's biggest development project and are expecting to complete the work as per schedule."

Two units of 1,200 MWe VVER each are to be built at Rooppur under the Russian design, giving priority to the highest safety measures. Unit-1 is scheduled to be commissioned in 2023 while commissioning of the second unit is slated for 2024 to produce 2,400mw of electricity from the two units.

In February, 2011, Rosatom, the state atomic energy corporation of Russian Federation, signed an agreement with the Bangladesh government to build the nuke plant at Rooppur in Pabna's Ishwardi. It will be the country's first nuclear power plant.

The initial contract for the project worth of $12.65 billion was inked in December, 2015.