Russia will supply nuclear fuel for the country's maiden nuclear power plant (NPP) in Rooppur this September, Rosatom director-general Alexey Likhachev made the assurance on Monday.
The assurance from the top executive of Russia's nuclear-energy corporation came during his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official Gonobhaban residence.
Ihsanul Karim, PM's press secretary, disclosed this to reporters during a media briefing after the meeting.
"Jointly with the Bangladeshi colleagues, we've reached one of the most important stages of the project implementation - the delivery of fresh nuclear fuel to the NPP site," said Mr Likhachev.
The event will mark the transition of the RNPP under construction into the status of a nuclear facility and make Bangladesh a member of the 'nuclear community,' according to him.
A nuclear community is a group of countries operating the energy of the peaceful atom.
Sources said Russia would deliver the fuel by air.
A group of Rosatom experts has 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 would be no problem of transportation.
The Russian state-owned nuclear entity will bear all costs related to the fuel delivery.
The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) has already obtained necessary licences for handling, storage and transportation of fuel to run the plant.
According to sources, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority recently issued 'B, D and E class' licences to the BAEC for implementing the project.
"The 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."
The acceptance inspection will be held in Novosibirsk Russia soon, noted Mr Deriy.
Class 'B' licence authorises the purchase, ownership, handling and storage of nuclear materials while class 'D' allows a Russian company to transport the stuff.
On the other hand, class 'E' licence provides for the authority of importing nuclear materials.
The licences were handed over through an official ceremony held in Pabna district recently.
Rooppur NPP is under construction at Iswardi sub-district of Pabna.
Two units of the project with a total capacity of 2,400MW electricity generation are being built under a Russian design.
Each unit will be equipped with Generation 3+ VVER-1200 reactor that fully complies with all international safety requirements.
The engineering division of Rosatom State Corporation is implementing the project as the general contractor.
Minter for Science and Technology Yeafesh Osman, project director of Rooppur NPP Shawkat Akbar and senior officials of Bangladesh and Russia were present during the meeting in Gonobhaban.
azizjst@yahoo.com
