Overview
- Rooppur Unit-1, which entered the physical start-up phase Tuesday, began fuel loading under supervision by the IAEA and Russia’s Rosatom.
- Engineers are inserting 163 uranium fuel assemblies into the reactor core, with about 300 megawatts targeted for the grid by August 2026 if tests proceed as planned.
- Officials describe a slow, safety-led sequence that uses Generation III+ VVER-1200 technology with a core catcher and passive cooling systems.
- The plant is intended to ease blackouts in a country that imports about 95% of its oil and gas and has faced shipment disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz since late February.
- Russia is building and financing the project, India has trained Bangladeshi operators under a 2018 agreement, and Moscow has agreed to repatriate spent nuclear fuel.