Safety Valve Flaw Halts Rooppur Commissioning

Uncertainty has emerged over the scheduled electricity supply to the national grid from Unit-1 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant following technical defects detected in its vital safety valves. Flaws in two Pilot-Operated Relief Valves (PORV) of the primary reactor pressurizer have stalled subsequent phases of commissioning tests. Consequently, government authorities are currently unable to confirm whether commercial power generation can commence within the targeted timeline.

The PORVs are critical safety elements designed to regulate excess pressure within the reactor's primary cooling circuit. Engineering contractor JSC ASE has proposed transferring a functional valve from Unit-2 to operationalize Unit-1. Project officials indicated that failure to secure an immediate replacement could delay the country's flagship nuclear project indefinitely. JSC ASE informed Bangladeshi authorities that the engineering challenge is highly complex, as the custom-built valve matches the specific VVER reactor design and cannot be procured off the shelf from commercial markets.

On Monday, August 17, the issue was discussed at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka during a high-level meeting between senior policymakers of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Russian Ambassador Alexander Khozin. Official records indicate that tests on the pressurizer PORVs have failed repeatedly over a five-week span. The chief designer of the valve is currently stationed at the Rooppur site. Russian officials stated that deploying additional designers provides no guarantee of success; fine-tuning the existing mechanism remains the primary technical recourse.

Ambassador Alexander Khozin stated that the equipment is engineered for an operational lifespan of 50 to 60 years, necessitating rigorous evaluations of its structural integrity, durability, and stress tolerance. Science and Technology Secretary Md. Anwar Hossain expressed serious concern regarding the cumulative delays and demanded a realistic timeline to resolve the bottlenecks. The Russian delegation sought three to four days for technical evaluations, and Ambassador Khozin pledged to convey Dhaka's concerns to Moscow swiftly.

Beyond the PORV complications, significant structural works remain incomplete. Of the 58 associated installations under Unit-1, 47 have been handed over to Bangladesh. The Project Director noted that the provisional handover of Unit-1 is projected for December 2026. Meanwhile, secondary setbacks are impacting Unit-2, which is already trailing its benchmark. Nuclear fuel loading for Unit-2 was originally scheduled for April 2027, but preceding inspections and tests remain lagging. Furthermore, spare equipment allocated for Unit-1 was utilized in Unit-2, requiring fresh supplies, re-installation, and re-commissioning.

Bangladesh has pressed for additional technical specialists and an independent technical assessment to determine the root cause of the delay and recover lost time. Russian authorities noted that chartered flights could bring extra experts to expedite ventilation, air conditioning, and Unit-2 site preparations. Initially budgeted at BDT 113,100 crore, the revised project cost has escalated to approximately BDT 138,700 crore. The commercial timeline of Bangladesh’s primary base-load clean energy venture now hinges entirely on resolving this mechanical bottleneck.
//DBTech/RKE/SME/MIST//