Next Phase 18 MPa Testing Begins
Rooppur Nuclear PORV Test Completed 16 MPa
- Unit-1 PORV safety valve successfully passes 16 MPa high-pressure functional testing
- Alternative route clears 7 uranium shipments arriving October through December 2
Ensuring critical thermodynamic balance and primary loop safety integrity, Unit-1 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant successfully completed its 16 MPa high-pressure test for the Pressure Operated Relief Valve (PORV/POSV) on the morning of September 30. According to official NPCBL sources, commissioning engineers operated the control valves from both the Main Control Room (MCR) and Emergency Control Room (ECR), confirming response parameters and Main Safety Valve (MSV) functionality ahead of the upcoming 18 MPa test stage.
Conducted under strictly enforced safety parameters, radiation protocols, and emergency fire readiness checks, the test monitored valve actuation response times, opening-closing cycles, system alarms, and core process parameters. Commissioning officials emphasized that safety protocols take absolute precedence over operational deadlines at every phase of verification.
Concurrently, Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom confirmed that following the resolution of airspace permission complexities, the first shipment of uranium fuel for Unit-2 arrives in Bangladesh today, October 1, via an alternative flight route. A total of 7 cargo flights scheduled between October and December 2026 will deliver the complete fuel supply for the second unit.
This follows the successful first fuel loading in Unit-1 on April 28, 2026, which formally transitioned the power plant from construction to its final commissioning and production-readiness phase. Currently undergoing safety valve recalibrations and internal engineering diagnostics, Unit-1 is slated to feed an initial 300 MW of experimental power into the national grid by late 2026, before scaling up to its full 1,200 MW commercial capacity in early 2027. Unit-2 is projected to go online by late 2027.
Implemented by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) with Russia's JSC Atomstroyexport (Rosatom) acting as the general contractor, the $12.65 billion megaproject features a total capacity of 2,400 MW across two 1,200 MW Generation 3+ VVER-1200 thermal nuclear reactors, financed up to 90% via Russian state credit. Situated on the banks of the Padma River, this flagship nuclear facility will anchor national energy security while substantially curtailing carbon emissions through sustainable baseload power.
//DBTech/DFR/SMP/IH//
