A major milestone has been achieved in the commissioning of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), as cold and hot functional tests at Unit 1 have been successfully completed. One of the key procedures—the blowdown of fresh steam pipelines in the turbine compartment—has confirmed the readiness of the unit’s systems to supply steam to the turbine.
These functional tests are a critical prerequisite for subsequent stages of commissioning and are essential to ensuring the safe and reliable operation of turbine equipment during full-scale plant operation.
The blowdown procedure was conducted using fresh steam at 2.0 MPa pressure and 200°C temperature—parameters aligned with the plant’s design requirements. This process helps to thoroughly clean the pipelines of residual moisture, contaminants, and mechanical particles.
During the tests, steam was discharged into the atmosphere, producing a loud noise that had been anticipated and deemed harmless to the public.
A second round of steam blowdown is planned, using a larger volume of steam to finalize the cleaning process and to confirm operational parameters under near-working conditions.
“With the completion of this stage of commissioning works, the Rooppur NPP takes another step towards the pivotal event—the launch of Power Unit No. 1 and its subsequent connection to the national grid,” said Alexey Deiry, Vice-President for Projects in Bangladesh at Atomstroyexport, the Russian contractor responsible for plant construction.
Built using Russia’s advanced VVER-1200 reactor design, the Rooppur NPP is expected to provide clean, stable energy to Bangladesh for decades. Once operational, Unit 1 is projected to meet up to 10% of the country’s current electricity demand.