Russia has decided to deliver nuclear fuel for the Rooppur nuclear power plant (RNPP) through air shipment due to sanctions on its 69 vessels to berth in the seaports of Bangladesh, said sources.
The first fuel-carrying Russian cargo aircraft is expected to arrive in Bangladesh in October 2023 to deliver fresh nuclear fuel, they added.
A group of Rosatom experts visited Dhaka recently 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, a senior official at the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) told the FE.
Russia's state-owned Rosatom will bear all the costs related to the fuel delivery.
Bangladesh and India refused docking permission for a Russian vessel, Sparta 3, in December 2022 and January 2023 respectively amid western sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The vessel was carrying equipment for the RNPP being built in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh also joined the United States and European Union sanctions against Russian vessels and the Bangladesh shipping ministry has banned 69 Russian ships from calling at its ports.
During an inter-governmental commission meeting, Bangladesh recently had rejected a Russian proposal for discussion on the Russian product-laden vessels, which were banned by Bangladesh from entering Bangladesh ports following the suit of the US and EU sanctions.
This is a matter of global and diplomatic issues. The bilateral meeting is not a platform for the discussion, Bangladesh had then argued.
The Rooppur project in Bangladesh is fully on track as all the necessary equipment continues to arrive at the construction site, Rosatom said.
Three ships carrying cargo for the under construction plant called the port of Mongla in January and February last. Russian companies continue manufacturing core equipment for the plant under construction.
In February last, the Petrozavodsk-based production facility of AEM Technologies, part of Rosatom, manufactured shut-off valves 116 pieces in total - for the piping of Unit 1 and Unit 2 nuclear islands.
These heavy-duty wedge gate valves are designed to withstand the pressure of up to 12 megapascal (MPa) and temperature of 300 degrees Celsius.
The valves passed a series of factory trials, including pneumatic, hydraulic and vacuum pressure tests.
When tested, they were subjected to a pressure of 18.4 MPa for 10 minutes.
Construction works are continuing at two power units with VVER-1200 reactors with a total power generation capacity of 2,400 MW.
In February last, welding operations were completed on the primary coolant pipes of Unit 2.
It took 60 days to align, weld and heat-treat 28 pipe joints. Another six days were spent to deposit a layer of austenitic stainless steel to protect the pipes against aggressive media.
Primary coolant pipes connect all the systems and equipment of the primary coolant circuit.
The circuit consists of four loops connected with the reactor, with each loop comprising a primary coolant pump and a steam generator. Weighing 238 metric tonnes, the primary coolant circuit is 140-metre long.
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