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Rooppur Nuke Plant

Feeding of first steam generator with SG tubes completed


Bangladeshpost
Published : 30 May 2020 09:16 PM | Updated : 05 Sep 2020 11:37 PM

The Volgodonsk Branch of “AEM-technology" in Russia has completed feeding with SG tubes of the first Steam Generator for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. The plant will have four such Steam Generators in each of its two units, Russia's state atomic energy corporation- Rosatom officials said.

Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is the country’s first nuclear power plant, being implemented by a subsidiary of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom. The main construction work of the power plant is continuing at Rooppur in Pabna district. At the same time its essential machineries are being made in Russia.

It is a top priority project on the Bangladesh government’s agenda, all the way up to the Prime Minister’s Office. The project will host two units, each with the latest generation 3+ VVER 1200 reactor. Total capacity of the plant is estimated to be 2,400 MW.

According to Rosatom, a Steam Generator is a heat exchanger which is about 14 meters long, more than 4 meters in diameter and weighs 350 tonnes.

It took 22 days for the specialists to perform orderly mounting of the elements including Tube Bundle inside the Steam Generator Vessel. The Tube Bundle was formed of 11 thousand coils. 

Experts performed a bending of stainless tubes into coils of various dimensions, followed by their cutting, grinding and tests. Coils were installed following a special design; ends of the tubes were connected to the primary circuit collectors.

The next stage of manufacture involves welding of the bottoms. The equipment will be subjected to hydraulic and a whole range of other tests, including Eddy Current Test of SG tubes.

AEM-technology is part of Atomenergomash, machine building division of Russia's state atomic energy corporation- Rosatom. Atomenergomash is the sole manufacturer and supplier of all equipment for Reactor Compartments and major part of equipment for Turbine Islands in both the units of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.

 Architect Yeafech Osman, Minister of Science and Technology, told The Bangladesh Post that the construction of the nuclear power plant is underway to ensure all necessary measures to prevent spread of corona infection at the site, following the Bangladesh Government and WHO guidelines. In addition to the use of different types of safety equipment, everyone is tested at least three times a day in terms of body temperature and health checkup.

“It is an international project and also a matter of honor for us. We hope at least 1200MW 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,” he added.

Project officials said most of the major projects in the country were halted due to Coronavirus. Due to the dependence on foreign manpower, some projects have been stopped. Foreigners associated with the embassy and various activities are returning to their respective countries. However, the construction work of Rooppur Power Plant is going on in full-swing. The project concerned has taken initiatives to prevent the deadly virus and to prevent anyone from getting infected.

Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Russia's state atomic energy corporation-Rosatom, said “Ensuring nuclear safety and safeguarding the lives and health of both our employees and the general public has been our first and utmost priority for decades. Safety is Rosatom’s key value. We have always had contingency plans for any kind of emergency situations, including those related to the health of our employees.”

“At present, we have introduced additional measures at all of Russia’s nuclear power plants, including regular health check-ups of our personnel. We have arranged for as many employees as possible to work remotely and purchased personal protective equipment and hygiene-related products in bulk. We are monitoring our employees’ health in close cooperation with local authorities across our areas of operation. We have developed a number of additional contingency plans for various scenarios of the coronavirus pandemic that may have an effect on the health of our NPP employees,” he continued.

Bangladesh government believes that once the nuke plant goes into operation, it will offer a window of opportunities, such as ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply to over 15 lakh families and jobs for a large number of people.