[🇧🇩] Civilian/Military Nuclear Program in Bangladesh

[Saif]

Bangladesh's transition to nuclear energy

Bangladesh is well set to transition to the operational phase of the nuclear power plant at Rooppur with the start of loading of fuel into the core reactor of unit-1 on Tuesday. However, fuel loading does not mean generation of power would begin right away. The loading will continue for about 45 da

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Bangladesh's transition to nuclear energy

FE

Published :
Apr 30, 2026 00:24
Updated :
Apr 30, 2026 00:24

Bangladesh is well set to transition to the operational phase of the nuclear power plant at Rooppur with the start of loading of fuel into the core reactor of unit-1 on Tuesday. However, fuel loading does not mean generation of power would begin right away. The loading will continue for about 45 days and then the core of the reactor would be warmed up for about three months before starting generation of power on a trial basis. Unit-1 of the n-power plant was scheduled for completion in 2022 but several unavoidable factors including the Covid-19 pandemic were responsible for the long delay. A sensitive and highly advanced scientific and technological process is involved across the construction to operation phases of a nuclear power plant. Although the trial generation of power can immediately be transmitted to the special power grid constructed for the purpose, it will take between six months to a year for commissioning the unit-1 for its capacity generation of power.

Clearly, the wait is not over yet but nevertheless the uranium loading is a milestone in the country's history of harnessing nuclear energy. Initially, 300 megawatts (MWs) of power will be generated and if things go well, production will be increased 10-15 per cent until the unit-1 runs full capacity at 1,200 MW. The unit-2 is still under construction and once that also comes into operation, this relatively more eco-friendly power plant will be able to add 2,400 MW to the national grid. So the output is expected to help Bangladesh reduce its dependence on fossil fuels to some extent. When the plant becomes fully operational, it will generate 10 per cent of the total installed capacity of all power plants. It will be quite a big step towards generating relatively cleaner power.

However, the status of n-plants as a source of clean energy is debatable because mostly for the disposal of spent fuel. The waste management is a crucial issue and reportedly Russia will take back the uranium waste. Whether the agreement in this respect is clear or not is yet to be ascertained. Built in compliance with the post-Fukushima safety standards, the Rooppur power plant has, according to official claims, some advanced feature to avoid accidents like that of Chernobyl. Yet safety and security concerns should be at the top of the priority list.

Finally, as a source of energy, power plants including n-plants are an extension of economic development goal of a country. Bangladesh has an installed capacity of 28,919 MW from 136 power plants, 95 per cent of which are fossil fuel-based. But the power output is more on paper than a reality. Right now, those power plants cannot meet the current demand of nearly 18,000 MW due to crisis of fuels. This is why renewable sources of power generation are a priority option. If the Rooppur N-plant proves a success, the country may opt for one or more such plants. But that would face a tricky situation simply because of the US-Bangladesh reciprocal trade agreement signed on February 9 this year. Bangladesh cannot receive uranium from a country blacklisted by the US. Here the hint is clear: Russia and China are those countries. Bangladesh has surrendered too much to retain the concessionary RMG deals. Even the country's energy options have been limited by that agreement.​

 

[Saif]

Corruption at Rooppur: Pillows were bought for nearly Tk 90,000

More shocking information has emerged regarding the purchase of pillows for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant construction project. In the project, some pillows were purchased for as much as nearly Tk 90,000 each.

en.prothomalo.com

Corruption at Rooppur: Pillows were bought for nearly Tk 90,000

Mohammed Mostafa

This pillow was bought at Tk 90,000Collected

More shocking information has emerged regarding the purchase of pillows for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant construction project. In the project, some pillows were purchased for as much as nearly Tk 90,000 each. The lowest-priced pillows, meanwhile, were bought for Tk 6,957 apiece. The information was obtained from sources at the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).

According to the source, a total of 4,702 pillows were purchased for the project. Among them, 60 pillows were bought at the highest price of Tk 89,900 each. Another 72 pillows were purchased at Tk 29,847 apiece. A total of 660 pillows were bought for Tk 20,000 each, while 120 pillows were purchased at slightly over Tk 10,000 each.

After investigating irregularities at Rooppur, the CAG office said nearly Tk 2.95 billion was looted through various irregularities in the construction of 20 buildings under the project. Of this, the actual value of the 4,702 pillows was Tk 14.8 million, but they were purchased for nearly Tk 54.1 million. The government suffered a financial loss of Tk 39.2 million due to the inflated pillow prices.

The CAG report recommended administrative action against those involved in the embezzlement and said the excess money paid must be recovered.

The issue of irregularities and corruption in the procurement of various items for the “Green City” residential complex under the Rooppur nuclear power project in 2019 has once again come under discussion. Among the 38 reports from various government departments and agencies submitted to Prime Minister Tarique Rahman last Wednesday was the report on the much-discussed Rooppur “pillow scandal.”

Reports of procurement irregularities at Rooppur first surfaced in the media in 2019. At the time, it was reported that each pillow had been purchased for Tk 5,957. The news sparked widespread discussion and became popularly known as the “pillow scandal.”

However, the CAG investigation has now found that some pillows were actually purchased at even higher prices. Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Saleh Shibly told journalists yesterday, “After hearing the unbelievable price of each pillow in the report, the Prime Minister told the CAG that one of these expensive pillows should be preserved in a museum.”

The CAG investigation report shows that project-related officials had proposed a cost of Tk 9,307 per pillow, including the pillow itself, the cover, loading and unloading, and transportation to different floors. The actual market value and associated cost, however, were Tk 3,154. In other words, an excess of Tk 6,153 was added per pillow. Later, even larger irregularities took place in the procurement of these pillows.

The investigation found that the pillows were purchased at inflated prices through collusion aimed at benefiting contractors. The report said that when auditors sought explanations on these issues, the engineers concerned failed to provide any response. Two firms — Sajin Construction Limited and Majid Sons Construction Limited— allegedly pocketed nearly Tk 40 million by purchasing pillows and other furniture items at inflated prices.

Speaking to Prothom Alo, Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, said, “It had been said before that massive looting took place in the Rooppur project. Now that specific information is emerging, exemplary punishment must be ensured for the contractors, officials and others who engaged in corruption through collusion. Jail terms and fines alone will not be enough; recovery of the embezzled money from them must also be ensured.”​

 

[Saif]

Rethinking Rooppur in the age of solar energy

Last week, uranium fuel loading began at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna, a moment Bangladesh’s scientists and engineers have awaited since plan to build a nuclear power plant was first conceived in 1961.

www.thedailystar.net

Rethinking Rooppur in the age of solar energy

Ahad Chowdhury

Despite being considerably more affordable than nuclear energy, Bangladesh’s solar energy sector continues to lag behind due to policy failures. FILE PHOTO: STAR

Last week, uranium fuel loading began at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna, a moment Bangladesh’s scientists and engineers have awaited since plan to build a nuclear power plant was first conceived in 1961. According to Prothom Alo, this milestone makes Bangladesh the 33rd country in the world to operate nuclear power and the third in South Asia after India and Pakistan. The achievement is real and deserves acknowledgment. Yet as the nation celebrates entry into this exclusive club, a harder question demands an answer: how did Bangladesh arrive at a point where a $12.65 billion debt-financed reactor became the primary answer to its energy crisis, when solar energy could be significantly more affordable?

The Rooppur plant, built by Russia’s Rosatom, will eventually generate 2,400 megawatts across two units and is expected to meet around 10 percent of Bangladesh’s electricity demand. The Daily Star reports that initial grid supply of around 300 MW is anticipated by late July or early August this year, with full capacity reached gradually over the next two years. Considering Bangladesh’s chronic electricity deficit and high annual demand growth, this energy development is truly significant.

But the financial architecture of Rooppur should propel every Bangladeshi to pause and think for a moment. Russia extended $11.38 billion in export credit for the Rooppur project. As the taka depreciates against the dollar, Prothom Alo reports that actual expenditures have risen by Tk 260 billion above contractual amounts, with total outlays now approaching Tk 1.39 trillion. Debt service on a foreign-currency obligation of this scale, especially for a country already burdened with LNG import costs and coal procurement payments, is energy bondage with a long amortisation schedule.

Compounding the fiscal concern, Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission has initiated a formal investigation into allegations of financial irregularities in Rooppur’s procurement process. The full scope of those allegations remains under active investigation, and the public deserves a transparent accounting before the debt repayments that will burden the national budget for the next two decades are simply accepted as the cost of doing business.

These grievances would have been more tolerable had Bangladesh simultaneously invested in domestic renewable energy. Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) reports that Bangladesh installed only 245 MW of rooftop solar capacity in the entire 17-year period from June 2008 to June 2025. For a tropical nation receiving 4-5 kilowatt-hours of solar irradiance per square metre daily, this figure is indefensible. The Financial Express reports that within Dhaka alone, approximately 375 MW of installed rooftop solar sits almost entirely idle because no functioning net metering system exists and no government plan integrates this capacity into the distribution grid. Bangladesh mandated solar panels on new buildings in 2012 and then never built the regulatory infrastructure to use the power those panels generate.

The argument that solar is unreliable or insufficient does not survive scrutiny. Germany, at 51 degrees north latitude, receives a fraction of Bangladesh’s sunshine but has an impressive solar capacity. Vietnam deployed more than 20 gigawatts in five years through decisive feed-in tariff policy. Morocco now exports solar electricity to Europe. However, despite strong sunlight, Bangladesh has produced only a bit over 1 GW of solar power after 20 years of policy efforts.

The reason is not entirely technical but political too. Importing LNG generates lucrative procurement contracts. Importing nuclear technology and fuel generates commissions accessible to politically connected intermediaries. Domestic solar, by contrast, is decentralised, transparent, and difficult to extract rent from. The sun does not require a middleman. This structural misalignment between the public interest and the interests of energy procurement syndicates has cost Bangladesh dearly—in foreign exchange, debt accumulation, and in the foregone clean energy that could have powered millions of homes at zero recurring fuel cost.

A $5 billion investment in distributed rooftop solar and utility-scale ground arrays, less than half the Rooppur debt, could have delivered 5,000 to 8,000 MW of domestic capacity with no fuel import cost, no foreign-currency loan, and no geopolitical dependency. According to IEEFA, Bangladesh now needs to deploy approximately 760 MW of new renewable energy annually between 2026 and 2030 just to achieve its modest goal of 20 percent renewables by that date. The FY2025-26 national budget allocates no specific incentives to the renewable energy sector. The gap between stated targets and budgetary commitment is itself an indictment.

Rooppur will generate electricity we need. But Bangladesh must understand that a single $12.65 billion nuclear plant—financed by a geopolitical creditor, repayable in foreign currency over 20 years, vulnerable to sanction disruption—is not an energy strategy. It is a monument to the failure to develop what was free, domestic, and abundant.

Dr Ahad Chowdhury is a geologist, currently teaching at Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky.​