BAEC attains licences for RNPP fuel handling

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) has attained necessary licences for handling, storage, and transportation of nuclear fuel to run the country's maiden nuclear power plant at Rooppur in northern Pabna.
Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) has recently issued the class B, D, and E licenses to the BAEC for the handling, storage, and transportation of the fuel for Rooppur Nuclear Power Project (RNPP) project, said sources.
"Delivery of nuclear fuel to the nuclear power plant is a complex multi-level process," said Atomstroyexport Vice President and Director of Rooppur NPP Construction Project Alexey Deriy.
"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 license authorises the purchase, ownership, handling, and storage of nuclear materials, class D license allows a Russian transport company to transport nuclear materials, while class E provides the authority of nuclear materials import.
The licenses were handed hover through an official ceremony held in Pabna, where Science and Technology Minister Architect Yeafesh Osman, Senior Secretary of the ministry Ziaul Hasan, BAERA chairman Md Muzammel Haque, deputy head of the Federal Service for Environmental, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (Rostekhnadzor), Russia, Alexey Ferapontov, and first deputy director general for nuclear power of the Rosatom State Corporation and President, ASE were present.
Rooppur NPP equipped with two VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2400 MW is being constructed under the Russian design.
VVER 1200 is an evolutionary generation III+ design that fully complies with all the international safety requirements. The Engineering Division of Rosatom State Corporation is implementing the project as the General Contractor.
Russia has decided to deliver nuclear fuel for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) through air shipment.
The first fuel-carrying Russian cargo aircraft is expected to arrive in Bangladesh in October 2023 to deliver fresh nuclear fuel, sources said.
A group of Rosatom experts have recently visited Dhaka to inspect the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA) infrastructure and runway.
They also inspected the roads from the airport to the RNPP construction site to make sure that there will be no transportation problem in this regard.
Russia's state-owned Rosatom will bear all the costs related to the fuel delivery.

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