Bangladesh has cleared its first nuclear power plant to begin a controlled chain reaction, bringing the long-delayed Rooppur project closer to generating electricity more than a decade after Dhaka signed its landmark nuclear agreement with Moscow.
The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) issued the final B-2 authorisation on October 8.
BAERA Chairman Mahmudul Hasan confirmed the approval to local media, marking one of the most consequential regulatory milestones for the country’s first nuclear power project.
The approval permits Unit 1 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Ishwardi, Pabna, to proceed towards its first criticality — the point at which a nuclear reactor sustains a continuous fission chain reaction. This does not, however, mean the plant is ready to supply commercial electricity.
The 1,200-megawatt reactor must undergo further commissioning, safety verification, turbine testing and grid synchronisation before delivering power.
According to project officials cited by local media, the first unit could begin test generation at around 300MW by December.
Commissioning and trial operations could continue for another six to seven months.
That timetable suggests regular commercial generation may not begin until well into 2027, assuming no further technical or regulatory setbacks.
The clearance follows pressure tests on the reactor’s safety systems at 18 and 16 megapascals, according to project information reported by local media.
Nuclear fuel deliveries have also accelerated.
A heavily secured convoy carrying uranium reached the Rooppur site at around 12:20pm on October 3, plant officials said.
Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation Rosatom said on September 28 that further fuel deliveries would take place between October and December.
Under the delivery schedule, nine cargo flights are expected to transport another 48 fuel assemblies for Unit 1 and 163 for Unit 2.
The arrival of nuclear fuel and the authorisation for first criticality are significant steps. Neither, however, establishes when the plant will begin supplying electricity at full capacity.
Rooppur is Bangladesh’s largest single infrastructure investment and its most ambitious energy project.
The two-reactor facility has a combined designed capacity of 2,400MW, making it potentially one of the country’s largest sources of continuous electricity generation.
Built by Rosatom using Russian VVER-1200 pressurised-water reactor technology, the plant is designed to operate for 60 years, with the possibility of extending its service life subject to technical assessments and regulatory approval.
The original construction agreement was valued at approximately 12.65 billion dollars, with Russia providing a state loan covering about 90% of the project cost.
The loan arrangement makes Rooppur not only an energy investment but also a substantial long-term financial commitment to Moscow.
Once both reactors are operating, the plant could supply more than a tenth of Bangladesh’s electricity needs, depending on national demand and the reactors’ actual output.
For an electricity system heavily exposed to imported coal, liquefied natural gas and petroleum products, nuclear generation offers the prospect of more predictable fuel costs and reduced dependence on fossil-fuel imports.
That advantage has become more important as disruptions to international energy markets, including those linked to conflict in the Middle East, have strained Bangladesh’s fuel supply and electricity finances.
But installed capacity alone will not determine Rooppur’s economic value.
The plant’s eventual contribution will depend on its operating costs, capacity factor, debt servicing, transmission readiness and the ability of the national grid to absorb its output reliably.
A nuclear reactor is generally designed to run at high utilisation rather than repeatedly adjust its output to meet short-term fluctuations in demand.
That creates additional requirements for grid stability, reserve generation and contingency planning in case a large reactor unexpectedly disconnects.
The financial stakes are substantial.
Delays in commercial operation defer revenue and electricity generation while project-related financing obligations continue.
Md Zahedul Hasan, managing director of the state-owned Nuclear Power Plant Company Bangladesh, told AFP that the first reactor was expected to be activated by the end of this year.
The second unit, he said, would become operational within a year.
That remains a projected timetable rather than a confirmed date for full commercial operation.
The latest clearance comes after an embarrassing technical setback.
Two automatic pressure-relief safety valves failed to perform as required during commissioning, delaying approval, according to The Daily Star.
Russian specialists subsequently spent about a month addressing the faults. The valves passed further tests before BAERA issued its authorisation.
Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam acknowledged the problem on September 3, saying it had disrupted plans to deliver the first 300MW to the grid.
The government had previously targeted late August for initial generation, a deadline the project missed.
The Financial Express reported that the reactor must still secure C and D certifications before commercial operation.
There are also questions about the infrastructure needed to transmit its electricity.
A separate power evacuation and transmission project, implemented by Power Grid Bangladesh, was reported to be 98.8% physically complete in May. Its financing costs had increased despite a reduction in the overall project estimate, according to Dhaka Tribune.
Russia has agreed to defer the start of principal repayments on its Rooppur loan by 18 months, with the first instalment now scheduled for September 15, 2028.
Russian Ambassador Alexander Khozin announced the revised arrangement in December 2025, according to state news agency BSS.
The extension provides Bangladesh with additional time to begin generating electricity before substantial principal repayments fall due.
The approaching start of nuclear operations has also brought renewed attention to safety, emergency preparedness and the consequences of an accident in a densely populated country.
The project has transformed surrounding communities, attracting Russian technicians, businesses and local workers.
Alexander Vladimirovich Skvortsov, a Russian installation technician who moved to Rooppur with his family in 2024, told AFP that the project had changed his life.
For local residents, the economic impact has been tangible.
Md Emon Khan, 28, left a garment factory job in Dhaka and returned to Rooppur to sell fruit and vegetables to plant workers.
“I can speak a bit of Russian, and they can speak Bangla, too,” he told AFP.
But the economic opportunities have not eliminated apprehension.
Md Yunus Ali, 80, who lives about a 15-minute walk from the facility, recalled that opposition to establishing a nuclear plant in the area dated back decades, according to AFP.
Rafikul Islam Mukul, a teacher at Solimpur Degree College, told The Daily Star in April that worries persisted.
“We are also worried about radioactive waste. Although we know Russia will take back the spent fuel, we have no clear idea of how that process works,” Mukul added.
Rooppur’s VVER-1200 reactors incorporate multiple engineered safety systems, including containment structures and passive safety features intended to mitigate serious accidents.
Such systems are designed to reduce risks, not eliminate them.
The recent valve failures illustrate why commissioning involves successive technical inspections and regulatory approvals before a reactor can begin commercial operation.
Beyond reactor safety, nuclear generation creates long-term obligations involving spent fuel, radioactive waste management, physical security and emergency response.
Bangladesh’s arrangements with Russia include cooperation on spent nuclear fuel management, but the long-term responsibilities associated with operating and eventually decommissioning the facility will remain significant.
The project has also faced political scrutiny.
Corruption allegations involving deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina and members of her family have raised questions about procurement and project costs. They have denied wrongdoing. The allegations have not been established by a final court judgment.
Rooppur’s history stretches back to the early 1960s, when the site was first identified for a possible nuclear power station.
Successive governments failed to advance the proposal until Bangladesh reached agreements with Russia, culminating in the 2015 construction contract.
Construction of the first reactor began in 2017.
The Covid-19 pandemic, followed by sanctions against Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, complicated logistics, equipment deliveries and international payments.
For Bangladesh, the immediate prize is 300MW of initial nuclear electricity, with substantially more capacity to follow.
But the larger test is whether Rooppur can deliver dependable electricity at a commercially sustainable cost while meeting the safety standards required of a nuclear operator.
The October 8 authorisation moves that prospect closer. It does not yet settle the question.