Two Russia-supplied VVER-1200 units under construction at site
Cold hydraulic testing has been completed for Unit 1 of the Rooppur nuclear power station under construction in Bangladesh, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.
Russia is building two VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor units at the Rooppur site, about 150 km west of the capital Dhaka, under a general contract signed in 2015. The plants will be the first commercial nuclear units in Bangladesh.
Cold hydraulic testing verifies that welds, joints, pipes and components in the primary circuit are able to withstand pressures higher than those during normal operation.
In October 2024, workers completed assembling the reactor at Rooppur-1, including the reactor internals and head, and have loaded dummy fuel assemblies in the reactor core.
Initial concrete pouring for Rooppur-1 took place in November 2017, followed by Rooppur-2 in July 2018.
While earlier reports projected Rooppur-1 to start up in 2024, its launch is now likely expected to be delayed until at least late 2025.
The next stage of commissioning will include hot functional testing, which is to check performance of reactor systems under operational conditions, but without nuclear fuel.
