The Russian-made nuclear reactor in Bangladesh reached an important milestone

Bangladesh's Russian-built Ropur nuclear power plant has reached a critical stage and is a key step towards electricity generation. Read the full article on RT.com.

The first unit of the Russian-backed Ropor power plant, the country's first nuclear reactor, has reached the critical stage, sustaining a controlled nuclear chain reaction for the first time.

Criticality - where a self-sustaining chain reaction occurs - is a big step towards generating electricity and will keep the plant on track to connect to the grid until the end of November. The unit reached the milestone at 3:34 pm local time on Sunday, three days after receiving a license from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority.

This followed a delay in the launch due to technical problems with the safety valves. Russian experts helped solve these problems, and the reactor underwent further tests before the regulator issued a controlled reaction permit.

Bangladesh Science and Technology Minister Dr. Anwar Hussain was quoted by the Daily Star as saying that the reactor had successfully started nuclear fission, with operating parameters working as designed. Additional regulatory approvals will be required before power generation can begin.

Alexey Likhachev, CEO of the Russian nuclear company, said in Dhaka on Friday that he expects the unit to be connected to Bangladesh's grid by the end of the month.

Located 160 km from Dhaka, the Ropur power plant consists of two Russian-designed reactors with a combined capacity of 2,400 MW. Moscow is financing the $11.9 billion government loan for the project, which is estimated to cost $12.8 billion.

The project is expected to diversify Bangladesh's electricity sources as the country faces pressure from high energy import costs and disruptions related to the Middle East conflict.