State-owned China Energy Engineering Corporation (CEEC) has inspected a site in Madarganj, Jamalpur, as part of plans to establish Bangladesh’s first modular reactor power plant, a senior official of the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) has said.
A Chinese team visited the char areas of Madarganj last week after BPDB officials showed it four potential locations for the proposed plant, according to BPDB Chairman Engineer Rezaul Karim.
“We have shown four separate locations to the Chinese side for establishing modular reactor power plants. They visited Jamalpur last week,” he told Just Energy News.
The BPDB chairman said they have already signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the company to implement the nuclear modular power plant.
The BPDB plans to establish nuclear modular power plants with a combined capacity of 200MW to 300MW at different locations, he said.
The Chinese team is also expected to visit Rangabali in Patuakhali to assess the feasibility of establishing a similar facility there, Mr Karim added.
“If everything is settled, we will move towards implementing small- and medium-sized modular power plants with the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology,” he said.
Two small modular nuclear reactors are currently in operation in Russia and China.
CEEC is a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation, a state-owned Chinese infrastructure group with operations in more than 60 countries and regions.
Rooppur progress remains unclear
Mr Karim also expressed concern over delays surrounding the commissioning of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, saying the BPDB had yet to receive a clear picture of progress on the project’s first unit.
“We don’t know what the progress of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 is, or the progress of the other unit,” he said.
The Rooppur authorities have begun discussions on a power purchase agreement (PPA) for electricity generated by the nuclear plant. However, the BPDB chairman said the tariff had not yet been determined.
“We are still in the dark about the tariff of the plant,” he said.
The comments come as Bangladesh seeks to expand nuclear power generation while also exploring smaller modular nuclear and other advanced power-generation technologies.
The Ministry of Science and Technology has also signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for implementing modular power plants through nuclear technology.