The commissioning of Bangladesh's first-ever nuclear power plant at Rooppur faces delays due to incomplete gridline work, particularly the crucial 2-km stretch over the mighty Padma river.

The issue was highlighted during an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection in March, which identified 17 areas requiring updates to meet operational standards.

The inspection team identified 17 areas that need to be developed to meet the desired standards, including the completion of a 2-kilometre gridline over the Padma river for the operational phase of the first unit of the 2,400-megawatt nuclear power plant, according to a top official of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP).

He said other notable areas needing updates include the internal fire extinguishing system and waste management inside the facility. The rest of the issues are not that serious and can easily be updated, he added.

Photo: ROSATOM

"The recent visit of the IAEA's team has inspired us, as we have received directions to develop different sectors. We are working to complete the necessary tasks," Dr Zahedul Hasan, project director of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, told The Daily Star.

He said the inspection team expressed satisfaction with 24 areas in their findings. However, for the commissioning of the first unit, completing the gridline work is a major task ahead.

"We need to complete the gridline work, including the 2-km river crossing line in the Padma, for the necessary tests for the physical start-up of Unit-1," said Dr Zahedul.

A total of 669 km of grid lines, including 16km of river crossing lines across both the Padma and Jamuna rivers, is required for power transmission to the national grid from the country's first nuclear power plant.

Line construction on plain land is almost complete, but major work on the river crossing lines over the Padma and Jamuna rivers has seen slow progress. Dr Hasan said 94 percent of the physical work of Unit-1 has already been completed.

Engineer Md Delwar Hossain, project director of the river crossing transmission line for the Rooppur project, said they expect to complete the Padma crossing line by May.

"Ninety percent of the work on the Padma has already been completed. We have completed piling work on two towers in the river, and construction on two towers on the banks of the river has started. We expect to complete the entire river crossing line within May," said Delwar.

He said after completing the river crossing line, the Rooppur-Gopalganj grid line will be connected to the power plant.

He attributed delays in river-crossing gridline work to funding problems, lack of equipment support, and excessive flooding last year. However, the gridline work on plain land has already been completed.

"We are optimistic about finishing the 144km Rooppur-Gopalganj gridline work by May to June this year," said Delwar.

Dr Zahedul said the physical start-up and pre-inspection by the IAEA's Operational Safety Review Team (OSART) depend on completing the gridline.

The IAEA's OSART programme assists member states in strengthening the safety of their nuclear power plants during commissioning and operation by comparing actual practices with IAEA safety standards.

"If the gridline work is completed within June, we will need another three to four months to go for the physical start-up of Unit-1 in October," he said.

He said they would invite the OSART team for pre-inspection once the gridline is completed. "We are unable to fix an OSART pre-inspection team due to repeated delays in gridline work," said the RNPP project director.

He mentioned running a series of tests through the 400kV Bogura-Rooppur grid line to reach the physical start-up stage.

"Recently, we completed a test in the primary circuit of Unit-1 with 24.5-megapixel pressure. This is one of the biggest tests before the physical start-up of the plant," the project director added.

The 2,400MW power plant is being built in the Rooppur area of Pabna district for $12.65 billion, with Russia providing 90 percent of the project's funding as a loan.

Russian state-owned Rosatom is constructing the power plant with two VVER-1200 reactors, each having a capacity of 1,200 MW.

Construction of Unit-1 formally began on November 30, 2017, and Unit-2 on July 14, 2018.

According to the original project proposal, Unit-1 was to be operational by December 23, 2022, and Unit-2 by October 8, 2023, with the entire project scheduled for completion by December 31, 2025.

However, the project deadline was extended by two years, rescheduling the commissioning of Unit-1 to December 2024.

Dr Md Shafiqul Islam, professor in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Dhaka University, said, "The project has been delayed due to several inter-related factors, including incomplete safety tests and compliance procedures required for power start-up, uncertainty regarding actual project costs impacting the finalization of the power purchase agreement, lack of necessary gridlines, the preparedness of certified reactor operators, and the absence of an established emergency preparedness and response centre."

He, however, expressed hope that all these issues would be resolved before the physical start-up.