Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin virtually attended the fuel handover ceremony of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday.
During the event, Rosatom Director-General Alexey Likhachev presented a certificate of fuel delivery and a model of a fuel assembly to Science and Technology Minister Yafesh Osman.
The first unit of the Rooppur plant has received approval for the use of uranium by the Russian state corporation Rosatom and international organizations in the field.
On September 28, a total of 168 TPS (uranium fuel assemblies, each weighing approximately 7kgs) were sent to Bangladesh from Russia, marking a significant step in the project.
After inspecting the preparations for this event, Yafesh Osman, in a press briefing, highlighted that the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is expected to contribute 2% to the country's GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
The plant will generate a total of 2,400 megawatts of electricity from its two units, with 1,200 megawatts available from each unit.
The uranium fuel for Rooppur has been prepared at the Novosibirsk plant in the Siberian region of Russia. According to the agreement, Russia will supply fuel for the entire lifetime of the Rooppur plant, which spans 80 years. For the initial three years, the fuel will be supplied to Bangladesh free of cost, strengthening the nation's energy infrastructure.
