Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, formally began its nuclear fission reaction at 3:30pm on Sunday, marking its progression through all technical stages to the final phase, according to plant officials.
Dr Mohammad Zahidul Hasan, managing director of the Nuclear Power Plant Company and a nuclear scientist, told Ajker Patrika that the formal reaction had started on Sunday afternoon.
“The process will now move forward gradually,” he said.
Dr Hasan said it was not yet possible to say when the plant would be connected to the national grid. The process will continue in this manner for the next few days before gradually advancing towards electricity generation, he said.
Another approval will be required before electricity can be supplied to the national grid, Dr Hasan added.
The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is being built on the bank of the Padma River in Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna. The project is being implemented under the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission with technical assistance from Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned company.
The plant has two units, each with a generation capacity of 1,200 megawatts. Built using Russian VVER-1200 technology, the facility will have a total generation capacity of 2,400 megawatts.
The project’s initial construction cost was estimated at $12.65 billion. In January 2026, the total cost was approved at nearly Tk139,000 crore after an increase of Tk25,592 crore.
Around 90 per cent of the project cost is being financed through a Russian loan, with Bangladesh bearing the remaining amount. Main construction work began on November 30, 2017, after the project’s foundation stone was laid in 2013.
The project deadline has already been extended at least four times.