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Rosatom completes upper RPV for Rooppur unit 1

Tuesday, 1 October 2019

Atommash, part of the Volgodonsk branch of Russia's AEM Technology, has completed the manufacture of the upper part of the reactor pressure vessel for unit 1 of the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.

Rosatom completes upper RPV for Rooppur unit 1 — The upper part of the RPV for Rooppur unit 1 (Image: Rosatom)

Welding of the parts of the structure took 25 days. It was then heated at 300 degrees Celsius for six days, Atommash said yesterday. Atommash and AEM Technology are subsidiaries of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Two 1200 MWe (gross) VVER-1200 units are being built at Rooppur, which is on the eastern bank of the river Ganges at Rooppur, 160 km from Dhaka.

Rosatom in February 2011 signed an agreement for two 1000 MWe-class reactors to be built at Rooppur for the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. The initial contract for the project, worth USD12.65 billion, was signed in December 2015. The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority issued the first site licence for the Rooppur plant in June 2016, allowing preliminary site works, including geological surveys, to begin.

First concrete for unit 1 was poured in November 2017, while that at unit 2 was in July this year. Installation of the core catcher - a passive safety system - for unit 1 started in August.