Science and Technology Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant would begin trial operations in December as the fuel for the plant has already arrived in the country.

“We had written to Russia requesting a November launch but they have informed us it will begin in December (trial operations),” he said while speaking to journalists at his ministry office.

Dr Salehuddin said a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has inspected the facility and made several recommendations which are now being implemented.

He said the per-unit price of electricity from the plant is yet to be determined.

According to an IAEA review team that concluded its mission on 27 August, Bangladesh’s first nuclear power facility at Rooppur has demonstrated a strong commitment to operational safety.

The Pre-Operational Safety Review Team (Pre-OSART) visit, conducted at Dhaka’s request, assessed Unit 1 of the power plant ahead of its commercial launch, the IAEA said in a statement.

Such missions benchmark nuclear facilities against global safety standards before they begin loading fuel.

Located in Pabna on the banks of the Padma River, the twin-unit plant will add 2,400MW to Bangladesh’s grid once both Russian-built VVER-1200 reactors are operational. Unit 1 construction began in 2017, followed by Unit 2 in 2018.

Notably, Bangladesh has successfully extended the Russian loan disbursement period for the power plant until 2027.

The original intergovernmental agreement between Bangladesh and Russia stipulated a loan disbursement period from 2017 to 2024 (December), with loan repayment set to begin in March 2027 after a 10-year grace period. Under the new arrangement, repayments will now commence in September 2028.

The Rooppur project, estimated to cost $12.65 billion, sees Russia providing 90% or $11.38 billion through state credit, with Bangladesh contributing the remaining 10%.