Rooppur Nuclear Plant Faces Fresh Delays
Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant still lacks a realistic integrated timetable for commercial electricity generation, with a government monitoring report flagging technical faults, equipment shortages, inadequate staffing and unfinished supporting infrastructure.
Rooppur Nuclear Plant Faces Fresh Delays
The Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division has warned that the project does not currently have a credible consolidated schedule for moving from commissioning to commercial operation.
The assessment noted that Russian contractor Atomstroyexport has not supplied the mandatory annual Level-2 schedule since December 2022, making it difficult to coordinate remaining construction, testing and commissioning activities.
The first unit had earlier been expected to begin supplying around 300MW to Bangladesh’s national grid during 2026 before gradually increasing output.
Technical Fault Disrupts Unit 1 Testing
A significant problem emerged during hot-state testing of Unit 1 when a Pressuriser Pilot Operated Relief Valve failed to open at its specified pressure.
The reactor was subsequently returned to a cold or stop-for-repair condition so engineers could investigate and correct the fault. Bangladesh’s science and technology authorities had earlier acknowledged that a valve-related technical problem had delayed planned electricity generation.
Fuel loading for Unit 1 began on April 28, 2026, marking the project’s transition into its commissioning phase.
IMED Flags Equipment and Staffing Gaps
The monitoring report also identified shortages of equipment and skilled personnel alongside incomplete supporting facilities as risks to the project schedule.
Rooppur has two VVER-1200 reactors with a combined gross generating capacity of 2,400MW and is being developed with Russian assistance.
Unit 1 had previously been targeted for commercial operation by December 2026, while Unit 2 was scheduled for completion in 2027. The latest assessment has added further uncertainty to those timelines.
