PM to inaugurate reactor pressure vessel installation for RNPP Unit-2 today

Ishwardi Correspondent: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to inaugurate installation work of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) at Unit-2 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) today morning.
She will virtually inaugurate the installation of the RPV in the 2nd unit of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna from her official residence Ganabhaban at 10 am today.
Talking to reporters at RNPP, Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman said that in line with the first unit, all major nuclear equipment installation works of the second unit of the RNPP is about to complete with the installation of Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) today.
“The project work is going as per the designated time line and the project will be completed within the stipulated time,” he said.
Osman said that installation of almost all types of nuclear equipment will be completed by installing the reactor pressure vessel inside the physical structure of the second unit.
“Through implementation of the RNPP smoothly, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is materialising the dream of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” he said.
Director General of Rosatom, Russia’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Alexey Likhachev will attend the ceremony in person.
According to the project details, Bangladeshi and Russian officials at the Rooppur project have already completed all the preparations for the installation.
It said the RPV holds nuclear fuel when the reactors operate and provides one of several barriers that keep radioactive material out of the environment.
Earlier on 10 October of last year, the Prime Minister had inaugurated the RPV at the first unit of the RNPP, which entitled Bangladesh as the 33rd country to have a nuclear power plant for producing electricity from nuclear energy.
As per the project plan, the first unit of the nuclear power plant will supply 1,200 MW in 2023 and the same amount of electricity will be available from the second unit in 2024.
The Rooppur project is being implemented by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission with the technical and financial support of Russia.
The project’s construction cost, including manpower training, amounts to $12.65 billion, and 90% of it is being funded by Russia.
Nuclear Scientist and the project director of RNPP project DrMdShaukat Akbar, said that the project has seen around 53 % financial progress and 55% physical progress. However, the overall progress of the first unit is 70%.
At present, there are around 33000 manpower working at RNPP site including 5500 foreigners.