Progress in the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna district is going in full swing with the addition of manufacturing equipment despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
ZIO-Podolsk JSC (owned by Atomenergomash JSC, Rosatom Mechanical Engineering Division) has manufactured and shipped the set of main equipment for RNPP (Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant) recently. The second set of Emergency Core Cooling System (ECCS) Tanks for the reactor core has been shipped to the Bangladesh. The equipment is intended for the reactor hall of the second NPP Power Unit.
The power plant is being implemented in Rooppur of Pabna district by a subsidiary of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom. AEM-technology is a part of Atomenergomash- an engineering division of Russia’s state atomic energy corporation Rosatom.
Despite the countrywide prevailing coronavirus threat, construction works of the country’s first nuclear power plant is going on uninterrupted.
According to Rosatom the Emergency Core Cooling System Tanks are included into the reactor plant - one Tank for each reactor coolant loop. The ECCS is designed for automatic supply of boric acid cooling solution to the reactor core in case of coolant loss and shall be put in operation in case of the primary circuit emergency depressurization.
Total weight of the products shipped is 156 tons. The equipment service life is 50 years. The Tanks are delivered by railway to the seaport (St. Petersburg), where they are loaded onto the barge and sent to Bangladesh by sea.
The design documents have been developed by ZIO-Podolsk NPP Equipment Department employees, they also provide the manufacture supervision.
JSC Atomenergomash is a supplier of the equipment package for the reactor hall and a large part of the turbine hall equipment for Rooppur NPP with reactor plant VVER-1200. The Companies of the Division manufacture reactors, steam generators, pumps and heat-exchanging equipment.
The Rooppur NPP authority has taken all necessary measures to prevent the spread of corona infection at the site, following the Bangladesh Government and WHO guidelines.
The government hopes at least 1,200MW of one unit of electricity from the first nuclear plant will be added to the national grid by 2023. The second with the same amount of power will be launched by 2024.
Manufacturing of various machine components and equipment is running in full swing in Russia. Some of them have already reached Bangladesh. Some have been shipped and others are still in the manufacturing process.
Once the nuke plant goes into operation, it will offer a window of opportunity, such as ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply to over 15 lakh families and jobs for a large number of people.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is planned and being constructed according to Russian design. The plant will have two power units with the latest generation 3+ VVER 1,200 reactor, which will fully meet all international safety requirements.
