Russia’s nuclear engineering contractor JSC ASE has proposed transferring a pilot-operated relief valve (PORV) from Unit 2 to Unit 1 of Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in an effort to commission the country’s first nuclear reactor, according to officials familiar with the matter.
If the replacement cannot be carried out, the country’s largest power project could face an indefinite delay to commissioning, officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The latest concern follows repeated failures involving a PORV on the reactor’s pressuriser, a critical safety component designed to help control excessive pressure in the primary cooling system.
JSC ASE, part of Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom, has told Bangladeshi officials that resolving the problem is technically complex. The valve is a plant-specific component and cannot simply be purchased and replaced on the commercial market, according to officials.
The difficulties have also raised concerns about the timetable for the plant’s second reactor. Officials said any further delay to Unit 1 could have a knock-on effect on Unit 2, which is already behind schedule.
The issue was discussed at a meeting between Bangladesh’s Ministry of Science and Technology and Russian ambassador Alexander Khozin at the Bangladesh Secretariat in Dhaka on 17 August. Senior policymakers and officials attended the meeting.
According to the official record of the discussions, the Russian side said tests on the Unit 1 pressuriser PORV had failed several times over a period of five weeks. The manufacturer’s chief designer was reported to be at the Rooppur site working to resolve the problem.
Russian officials said the valve was unique to the reactor design and that bringing in additional Russian designers would not necessarily produce a different result. With no suitable replacement available commercially, they said the remaining option was to readjust the existing equipment.
Ambassador Khozin stressed that the equipment was designed to operate for between 50 and 60 years, and that its structural strength, durability and capacity would need to be verified to ensure reliable long-term operation.
Bangladesh’s science and technology secretary, Md Anwar Hossain, expressed concern over the continuing delays and called for a minimum feasible timeframe to be established for resolving the outstanding problems.
The Russian side requested a further three to four days to carry out technical adjustments and assessments. Mr Khozin said he would convey Bangladesh’s concerns and the urgency of the situation to officials in Moscow and provide an update on the outcome.
Outstanding work at Rooppur nuclear plant
The PORV problem is not the only issue facing the project.
Of the 58 facilities associated with Unit 1, 47 have been handed over, according to officials. The project director told the meeting that provisional handover of Unit 1 was scheduled for December 2026.
Bangladesh asked the Russian contractor to use the period of PORV adjustment to complete as much of the remaining work as possible.
The Russian side agreed to prepare a realistic schedule for completing the outstanding work. Officials also said another high-powered team would be sent to Bangladesh.
Unit 2 also behind schedule
Officials are increasingly concerned about the progress of the second reactor.
Under the previous schedule, Unit 2 was expected to be ready for nuclear fuel loading in April 2027. Before fuel loading can begin, a series of tests and inspections must be completed as part of the commissioning process.
Bangladeshi officials said those activities were currently behind schedule.
The project director also told the meeting that several pieces of equipment originally associated with Unit 1 had been used for Unit 2, including spare equipment, and had not yet been replenished. Those items will now have to be supplied, installed and commissioned.
Under the general contract, Unit 2 is due to be provisionally handed over to Bangladesh by December 2027.
The Russian side agreed to prepare a comprehensive schedule covering equipment replacement, completion of the remaining work and the eventual handover of Unit 2.
Bangladesh also called for additional experts and an independent technical assessment to identify the root causes of the delays and recommend practical measures to recover lost time.
Russian officials said experienced specialists were already working at the site but that they were assessing whether additional personnel were required. They said a charter flight could be arranged to bring in further experts, particularly to accelerate outstanding ventilation and air-conditioning work on Unit 1 and preparations for Unit 2.
The two sides agreed to maintain close co-ordination at senior technical and management levels. A further virtual meeting was also proposed after the Russian side completed its technical assessment.
The Just Energy News attempted to contact the science and technology minister and MOST secretary Anwar Hossain by telephone but was unable to reach them.
The original project estimate was about Tk1.131 trillion, while the revised estimate has risen to approximately Tk1.387 trillion.
The Rooppur project, being built by Russia under a government-to-government arrangement, is intended to provide Bangladesh with a major new source of low-carbon electricity. But the latest technical difficulties have added to concerns over the schedule for the country’s long-awaited entry into nuclear power.