First batch of uranium for RNPP reaches Rooppur

September 30, 2023 00:00:00

Covered vans transport the first consignment of uranium, the nuclear fuel for Rooppur Nuclear Power plant, from Dhaka to Pabna on Friday. The photo was taken in Shafipur area of Gazipur. — Focus Bangla

PABNA, Sep 29 (UNB): The first consignment of uranium, the nuclear fuel for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, has arrived in Pabna's Rooppur under special security arrangement.

Akbar Ali Munsi, superintendent of Pabna police, confirmed the development, saying that the first consignment of the uranium was transported here around 1:15pm Friday.

He said the motorcade carrying the uranium broke down in Gazipur partly due to mechanical fault, but resumed the journey around 7am after it was fixed.

An additional number of law enforcement agencies were deployed on the Dhaka-Pabna Highway and check posts were also set up at important points as part of the security measures, the SP said, adding that vehicular movement on the highway was also kept suspended.

Akbar Ali said the authorities concerned were asked to keep vehicular movement suspended on the highway due to the security issue as the route frequently remains stuck with traffic gridlock.

He, however, said the vehicles plying on the highway were asked to operate through alternative Aricha-Kazirhat routes to avoid suffering.

Earlier, the first batch of fresh uranium for the first unit of Rooppur nuclear power plant arrived at Dhaka airport on Thursday in a special air cargo from Russia.

According to official sources, Director General of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Aleksey Likhachev will hand over the fuel officially to the project authority in the Rooppur project on October 5.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to virtually join the function.

The fuel was produced at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) in Russia, a subsidiary of Rosatom's fuel manufacturing company Tevel.

Rosatom as a Russian contractor has been engaged in building the 2400 MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) having two units with capacity 1200 MW each.

According to project officials, the government is expecting to commission the first unit of the RNPP in September next year and second unit in mid of 2025.