Rosatom says Rooppur unit 1 reached criticality and discusses larger follow-up phase with Bangladesh

Rosatom announced that the first unit at Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has reached criticality, and the company said it is discussing a larger follow-up phase with Dhaka.

The statement, delivered by Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week forum, said the first unit is on track to be connected to Bangladesh’s national grid by the end of November. Rosatom framed the near-term milestone and the talks on additional capacity as part of the plant’s next development step.

Likhachev told reporters that discussions focus on “a possible additional phase of large units,” while also noting that Bangladesh has sought proposals from Rosatom for small nuclear power plants, floating nuclear power plants, and a research reactor.

Rosatom described Rooppur as Bangladesh’s first nuclear plant and said it comprises two Russian-designed reactors with a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts. The company provided financing details in its account: Moscow is financing $11.9 billion in state loans for the Rooppur project, and Rosatom estimated the overall project cost at up to $12.8 billion.

Rosatom said it is supplying equipment, nuclear fuel, and engineering assistance for the plant, and said the completed facility is expected to meet a portion of Bangladesh’s electricity demand when finished.

The announcements were reported by Rosatom and were carried in regional headlines noting the same two central claims: the first-unit milestone and talks about an additional phase.

Rosatom did not present a different schedule for the second unit in the quoted remarks nor provide technical commissioning details beyond the criticality statement and the grid-connection target for unit 1. Bangladesh’s specific decisions, formal contracts or a government timetable for any additional phase were not detailed in Rosatom’s comments cited in the report.

Rosatom’s reference to requests for proposals indicates Dhaka has asked the company to propose options ranging from small reactors to floating and research reactors, but the company did not say which, if any, options have been approved.

The account places the Rosatom statements at the Russian Energy Week forum and identifies Aleksey Likhachev as the company official making the remarks.

Aside from the financing and the capacity figures for the two reactors, the report confines itself to Rosatom’s description of milestones, proposals requested by Bangladesh, and the company’s stated role in supplying equipment and fuel.