Official ceremony dedicated to the delivery of the first batch of nuclear fuel for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has been held at the Rooppur NPP construction site at Ishwardi.

Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, Sheikh Hasina, prime minister of Bangladesh, and Rafael Grossi, director general of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) participated in the ceremony through video conference.

At the site, the event was attended by Alexey Likhachev, director general of Rosatom State Corporation, Architect Yeafesh Osman, minister of science and technology, govt. of Bangladesh and other dignitaries attended the ceremony among others.

During the ceremony, top leaders Bangladesh and Russia gave symbolic permission for the delivery of nuclear fuel to the Rooppur NPP.

Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom director general, handed over a certificate to architect Yeafesh Osman, the minister of science and technology of Bangladesh, confirming the delivery of the fuel in full compliance with all the safety standards and requirements.

The fuel for Rooppur NPP was manufactured in Russia at Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP), an enterprise of Rosatom’s Fuel Division. The fuel manufacture and transportation were performed under the active guidance and supervision of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA).

“This day marks a new stage in the development of Russian-Bangladeshi relations. After the delivery of nuclear fuel, Rooppur NPP becomes a nuclear facility, and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh gets the status of a country that possesses peaceful nuclear technologies. For Rosatom, it is a great honor to implement a project that will ensure a stable power supply and will help to preserve the unique nature of Bangladesh for future generations”, said Alexey Likhachev, director general of Rosatom state corporation.

“We’ve been waiting for this special moment for a long time It is a celebration not only for the people of Pabna district but also for the entire nation. On October 5 we received the fuel delivery certificate, which speaks about our achievements as a nation. Bangladeshi people are vibrant and colorful and we are going to celebrate it in a very colorful manner. The entire nation is in a festive mood”, said architect Yeafesh Osman, minister for science and technology, government of Bangladesh.

Rooppur NPP has two units of Generation 3+ VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,400MWe and is being constructed under the Russian design that fully complies with all the international safety requirements. The life cycle of the reactors is 60 years with the possibility of extension of the service life for another 20 years. The project is implemented by the Rosatom engineering division.