The authorities of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant have detected a minor fault during testing following fuel loading at Unit-1 of the country’s first nuclear power plant, which is scheduled to begin partial commercial operations in August 2026, a top government official confirmed.
“We identified a minor fault after pressurising the system at Unit-1 on Friday night. It is not a major issue, and we expect it to be fixed quickly,” Science and Technology Secretary Md Anwar Hossain told journalists.
Another official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Just Energy News that engineers detected minor faults in three separate areas of Unit-1 during the testing process.
Following the detection, the authorities instructed the contractor to immediately suspend further testing and rectify the issues before resuming operations, the official said.
The matter was promptly reported to the minister and the Science and Technology Secretary, according to the official.
Some three minor holes developed in Unit-1 of the nuclear power plant during fuel-loading test, an official said.
“However, we want to determine the extent and significance of the damage despite minor issue,” the official added.
However, the official declined to specify the exact location of the minor hole to the Just Energy News.
Before fuel-loading tests were conducted, a similar fault was also detected in Unit 1 of the plant, another official confirmed.
The Just Energy News received the disclosure while visiting the during attending a two-day high-level strategic discussion ended last Friday on “Nuclear Energy: Realities and Bangladesh’s Path Forward” organised by the ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) where participants were informed about the extensive safety measures incorporated into the project. The experts of the IAEA also attended at the discussion.
Officials said the government has invested around $1 billion in safety and security systems to ensure the plant can withstand natural disasters, including earthquakes measuring up to 8 on the Richter scale and even tsunami-related impacts.
During a visit to the plant, Nuclear Power Plant Company Bangladesh Limited (NPCBL) managing director Dr Md Zahidul Hasan said the probability of a severe nuclear accident is extremely low, estimating that such an event could occur only once in a million years.
Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam also told a two-day discussion involving business leaders, journalists, lawmakers and civil society representatives that ensuring the safety and security of the plant remains the government’s highest priority.
He added that electricity generated from the nuclear power plant would be comparatively cheaper than power produced from fossil fuel-based plants over the long term.
The government is planning to implement two additional units, subject to the successful commissioning of the existing two units. The first unit is expected to generate 1,150 MW of electricity by December this year, while the second unit is scheduled to begin generation during the same period next year.