With the installation of two Bridge Cranes in the turbine compartment of Unit-2 of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP), the project reaches one more step closer to completion, the project official said.
The cranes will be used for construction and installation works, and for the RNPP reconstruction, repair, and upgrading during operations.
The construction work of the country's first nuclear power plant at Rooppur in Pabna district is progressing fast with the support of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom.
A branch of Rosatom Engineering Division- VdMU installed the cranes having a lifting capacity of 50 and 180 tons. The heaviest and largest components were installed in the design position using the Liebherr 11350 cranes with a lifting capacity of 1350 tons.
“Installation of bridge cranes is a complex technological process involving more than a hundred operations. Its successful completion allows proceeding to the next construction stage, which is the installation of the turbine compartment equipment, in particular, the main and auxiliary equipment of the turbine set”, said Alexey Deriy, ASE Vice President and Director for Rooppur NPP .
The total capacity of the plant is estimated at 2,400 MW. The government believes at least 1,200MW units 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.
As a top priority project on the Bangladesh government’s agenda, the progress of the plant is closely monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office.
The essential machinery for the plant is being made in Russia. Some of the machinery has already reached Bangladesh, some shipped and others are still in the manufacturing process.
Rooppur NPP will be equipped with two Russian 3+ generation VVER-1200 reactors of a total of 2,400 MW. This type of reactor meets all the international safety requirements. The engineering division of Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation is the designer and general contractor of the project.
Officials said the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will bring about a comprehensive change in the country's economy, contributing more than two percent to GDP growth.
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 a large number of jobs.
On October 2 in 2013, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina laid the first foundation stone of Rooppur NPP. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) had approved the construction of the Project on December 6, 2016 at an estimated cost of Taka 1,13,092.91 crore.