Director-General of Rosatom State Corporation Alexy Likhachev is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (Monday) to discuss issues related to shipping nuclear fuel and its loading in Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
Scheduled to arrive here Sunday night, he would discuss issues of handling, storage, and transportation of nuclear fuel to run the country's maiden 2,400 megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant, a senior official at Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) told the FE Sunday.
Russia has decided to deliver the nuclear fuel by air.
The first fuel-carrying Russian cargo aircraft is expected to arrive in Bangladesh in September next, one month ahead of the previous schedule of October.
A group of Rosatom experts visited Dhaka recently to inspect the infrastructure and runway of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA).
They also inspected the roads from the airport to the RNPP construction site to make sure that there will be no transportation problem.
Rosatom, Russia's state-owned nuclear entity, will bear all the costs related to the fuel delivery.
The BAEC has already attained necessary licences for handling, storage, and transportation of nuclear fuel to run the nuclear power plant.
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) recently issued the class B, D, and E licences to the BAEC for implementing the RNPP project, said sources.
"Delivery of nuclear fuel to the nuclear power plant is a complex multi-level process," Atomstroyexport Vice President and Director of Rooppur NPP Construction Project Alexey Deriy said earlier.
"It should meet all international safety standards. The fuel will not be shipped and delivered to the RNPP until all necessary inspections and scheduled procedures have been completed," he added.
The acceptance inspection will be held in Novosibirsk Russia soon, he noted.
Class B licence authorises the purchase, ownership, handling, and storage of nuclear materials, class D licence allows a Russian transport company to transport nuclear materials, while class E provides for the authority of nuclear materials import.
The licences were handed over through an official ceremony held in Pabna.
The RNPP equipped with two VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2400 MW is being constructed as per the Russian design.
Azizjst@yahoo.com
