Bangladesh begins fueling Rooppur nuclear plant

Overview

Bangladesh first considered building a nuclear plant in 1961, when the site at Rooppur was still part of East Pakistan. Sixty-five years later, on April 28, 2026, technicians began lowering 163 uranium fuel assemblies into the core of Unit 1—the step that turns a construction project into a nuclear power station.

The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) issued the operating license for Unit 1 on April 16, 2026, the final regulatory clearance before uranium could enter the core. The loading process is expected to take 21 to 30 days, after which the reactor will be brought to first criticality.

The two-reactor, roughly $12.65 billion plant on the Padma River is Russia's largest single export project and Bangladesh's largest piece of infrastructure. Once both VVER-1200 units run, they will supply roughly 12% of national electricity and make Bangladesh the 33rd country to produce atomic power—third in South Asia after India and Pakistan. Tarique Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won 209 of 297 parliamentary seats on February 12, 2026, and he was sworn in as Prime Minister on February 17, inheriting Rooppur from the Yunus interim administration.

Why it matters

Bangladesh's 170 million people endure chronic blackouts on a grid mostly fed by imported gas. Rooppur adds 2,400 MW of baseload independent of global fuel markets.

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Key Indicators

$12.65B

Total project cost

Largest single infrastructure project in Bangladesh's history, financed mainly by an $11.38 billion Russian export credit.

2,400 MW

Combined capacity

Two VVER-1200 reactors will supply roughly 12% of Bangladesh's electricity once both units are commercial.

163

Fuel assemblies loaded

Uranium assemblies being placed in Unit 1's core under IAEA and Rosatom supervision.

3rd

South Asian nuclear producer

Bangladesh joins India (1969) and Pakistan (1972) as the only South Asian states generating atomic power.

300 MW

First grid contribution

Initial power expected to reach Bangladesh's national grid by August 2026, ramping toward 1,200 MW by year-end.

65 years

From concept to fuel load

Site selection in 1961 to first fuel loading in 2026, spanning East Pakistan, independence, and multiple governments.

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People Involved

Rafael Mariano Grossi

Sent recorded congratulatory message to Bangladesh fuel-loading ceremony

Alexey Likhachev

Attended Rooppur fuel-loading ceremony in person

Sheikh Hasina

In exile since August 2024; subject of Anti-Corruption Commission inquiry over project

Muhammad Yunus

Stepped down February 17, 2026 after BNP election victory; 18-month interim tenure oversaw Rooppur loan renegotiation, corruption inquiry, and commissioning preparations before handing power to elected government

Fakir Mahbub Anam

Presided over April 28 fuel-loading ceremony

Tarique Rahman

Sworn in February 17, 2026; met Rosatom chief on April 28 and publicly endorsed Russia's role in Rooppur

Organizations Involved

Rosatom

State nuclear corporation (Russia)

Lead contractor and export financier for Rooppur

Russia's state-owned nuclear group, which both built Rooppur and arranged the $11.38 billion export credit financing it.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

UN Agency

Safeguards inspector and safety reviewer for Rooppur

The UN body that inspects civilian nuclear facilities to verify they are not diverting material to weapons programs.

Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission

Bangladesh government agency

Future operator of the Rooppur plant

The state agency that signed the original Rosatom partnership and will operate Rooppur once the Russian contractor hands it over.

Timeline

January 1961 April 2026

16 events Latest: April 28th, 2026 · 1 month ago Showing 8 of 16

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April 2026
Fuel loading begins at Unit 1
Latest Construction

Technicians start placing 163 uranium fuel assemblies into Unit 1's core under IAEA and Rosatom supervision. Bangladesh becomes a pre-operational nuclear state.
April 28th, 2026 • 15:30 BST
Rosatom chief meets Prime Minister Rahman hours before fuel ceremony
Diplomatic

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev calls on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at the Bangladesh Secretariat to discuss energy security and Rooppur's progress. Rahman praises Russia's assistance; Likhachev assures continued support and expresses confidence the remaining work will finish on schedule.
April 28th, 2026 • 10:00 BST
BAERA issues Unit 1 operating license for fuel loading
Regulatory

The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority grants the commissioning license allowing nuclear fuel to be placed in Unit 1's reactor core, the final domestic regulatory gate before uranium enters the plant.
April 16th, 2026
February 2026
Tarique Rahman sworn in as Prime Minister, ending 18-month interim government
Political

BNP leader Tarique Rahman is sworn in by President Mohammed Shahabuddin, concluding Muhammad Yunus's interim tenure. Rahman's government inherits Rooppur at the commissioning stage; his BNP campaign had pledged a transparency review of the project.
February 17th, 2026
BNP wins Bangladesh general election with landslide majority
Political

Bangladesh Nationalist Party wins 209 of 297 declared parliamentary seats with 59.88% voter turnout, the country's first general election since the August 2024 uprising that ousted Sheikh Hasina.
February 12th, 2026
December 2025
IAEA completes pre-startup safety review
Regulatory

The International Atomic Energy Agency signs off on Unit 1's readiness for fuel loading, the regulatory gate before any uranium enters the core.
December 1st, 2025
December 2024
Anti-Corruption Commission opens Rooppur inquiry
Investigation

Bangladesh's ACC investigates allegations of large-scale embezzlement around the Hasina-era Rooppur deal. Russia's embassy disputes the structural feasibility of such diversion.
December 1st, 2024
September 2024
Dummy fuel loading completes commissioning rehearsal
Construction

Non-radioactive fuel mockups are loaded into Unit 1 to verify handling procedures and reactor systems before live fuel arrives.
September 17th, 2024
August 2024
Sheikh Hasina ousted; interim government inherits Rooppur
Political

Hasina resigns and leaves the country amid a student-led uprising. Muhammad Yunus's interim government takes ownership of the project mid-stream.
August 5th, 2024
April 2023
Bangladesh begins paying Russia in Chinese yuan
Financial

After ruling out dollars and rejecting rubles, Dhaka and Moscow agree to settle Rooppur invoices in yuan via Chinese banking rails.
April 1st, 2023
February 2022
Russia invades Ukraine; sanctions complicate Rooppur payments
External shock

Western sanctions on Russian banks make dollar settlement of Rooppur invoices impractical. Construction continues; payment mechanics enter limbo.
February 24th, 2022
January 2019
Rooppur "pillow scandal" surfaces
Controversy

Reporting reveals inflated procurement prices for worker housing, including pillows priced at roughly 5,957 taka each. The episode becomes shorthand for project graft.
January 1st, 2019
November 2017
First concrete poured for Unit 1
Construction

Construction formally begins on the first reactor building. Unit 2 follows on July 14, 2018. Initial commissioning targets slip from 2023 to 2026.
November 30th, 2017
December 2015
General contract signed for $12.65 billion two-unit plant
Contract

Bangladesh and Atomstroyexport sign the master contract for two VVER-1200 reactors. Russia provides $11.38 billion in export credit at SOFR plus 1.75%, capped at 4%.
December 25th, 2015
May 2009
Bangladesh and Russia sign nuclear cooperation MoU
Agreement

The Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission and Rosatom sign a memorandum on peaceful nuclear cooperation, opening the path to a Russian-built plant.
May 13th, 2009
January 1961
East Pakistan selects Rooppur as future nuclear site
Planning

Authorities identify a stretch of the Padma River near Ishwardi for a possible reactor. The plan stalls through Bangladesh's 1971 independence war and decades of subsequent feasibility studies.
January 1st, 1961

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Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

November 1972

Pakistan's KANUPP Karachi opens (1972)

Pakistan commissioned the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP-1), a 137 MW Canadian-built CANDU reactor, becoming the first South Asian country to generate commercial nuclear electricity. The plant ran for 49 years before retiring in 2021.

Then

Pakistan added a small but symbolic share of nuclear power to a coal-and-hydro grid, validating CANDU reactors for emerging-market exports.

Now

KANUPP became the template for Pakistan's continued nuclear expansion at Chashma and a new Karachi facility built by China. It also marked the moment South Asia split nuclear cooperation between Western (India, then Pakistan) and Eastern (Pakistan, Bangladesh) supplier blocs.

Why this matters now

Bangladesh is following the same trajectory KANUPP launched—small grid share, foreign-built reactor, geopolitical supplier choice as much as a technical one. KANUPP's 49-year run also previews the timescale of the commitment Bangladesh just made.

September 2011

Iran's Bushehr connects to grid (2011)

After more than three decades of stop-start construction—begun by Germany's Siemens in the 1970s, abandoned during the Iran-Iraq War, and resumed by Russia's Rosatom in 1995—Bushehr Unit 1 connected to Iran's grid. The reactor used a Russian VVER-1000 design retrofitted into the original German containment.

Then

Iran became the first Middle Eastern country with a working nuclear plant. International monitors confirmed the plant was civilian, though the broader Iranian nuclear program remained under sanctions scrutiny.

Now

Bushehr cemented Rosatom's role as the supplier-of-last-resort for nuclear customers facing Western export controls—a position now playing out in Bangladesh's yuan-denominated payments.

Why this matters now

Bushehr is the closest direct parallel: a Russian-built reactor for a country navigating sanctions complications, with the IAEA acting as the credibility broker. It also shows how schedules slip and how Russia keeps building anyway.

April 2021

UAE Barakah Unit 1 starts commercial operation (2021)

The United Arab Emirates connected its first reactor at Barakah, becoming the first new country to enter civilian nuclear power in three decades. Korea Electric Power Corporation built four APR-1400 units for roughly $20 billion. Fuel loading occurred in March 2020; commercial operation began 13 months later.

Then

Barakah's first unit added 1,400 MW to the UAE grid and demonstrated that a Gulf state could operate a reactor under IAEA safeguards without raising weapons-program concerns.

Now

All four units came online by 2024, supplying about 25% of UAE electricity. The project re-set expectations for what a new-entrant nuclear program could achieve on time and budget, and made South Korea a credible reactor exporter.

Why this matters now

Barakah is the most recent precedent for what Bangladesh is starting now: fuel loading to commercial operation in roughly a year, IAEA-supervised throughout, in a country with no prior nuclear operating experience. The 13-month timeline from Barakah's fuel load to power-on is a useful benchmark for Rooppur's August grid-connection target.