First criticality in Rupur, Bangladesh.

The first reactor of the Rupur Nuclear Power Plant (Rooppur) in Bangladesh achieved the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction (criticality) on Sunday, October 11, thereby this Asian country has taken a key step toward joining the club of nuclear-energy-producing countries

The achievement of criticality occurred three days after the national regulator issued official approval. The success followed immediately after a meeting in Moscow between Rosatom's director-general Aleksei Likhachev and Bangladesh's Minister of Science and Technology Fakir Mahbub Anam. According to project representatives, in the upcoming period a series of tests and safety checks at a minimal controlled capacity will follow, while the commissioning of electricity production at this unit and its first synchronization with the national grid is planned for November 20.

Construction of the first unit of the Rupur power plant (or in some sources "Ropur"), located about 160 kilometers from Dhaka, began in November 2017 under a Rosatom contract worth $12.65 billion. The project includes two large-capacity reactors, light-water reactors with the VVER-1200 design; designed operating life of 60 years and the possibility of extending by an additional 20 years. The plant received its first fuel assemblies in October 2023 (thus the site officially gains the status of a nuclear facility) while the complete fueling of the reactor core with 163 fuel assemblies was completed in May of this year.

And along with the successful startup of the reaction, Rosatom also announced that the installation of automated process control systems (APCS) on both units has been completed. Rupur is the first foreign facility in Rosatom's portfolio where an advanced Operator Support Information System was implemented, designed to shorten response times in operations management and reduce operating costs.

We congratulate Bangladesh and the Rupur workers, and as a media outlet we add that Bangladesh's entry into the phase of physically starting the first nuclear power plant represents a historic achievement for the country's energy infrastructure.

However, we note that for a country that is operating nuclear capacities for the first time, the real challenge lies ahead – ensuring long-term operational safety, establishing a stable grid infrastructure capable of accommodating a baseload of 1,200 megawatts; and above all – establishing and securing a complex social, societal and educational infrastructure for the long-term management of one of the most advanced technologies we as a species have mastered.

S.A.