Director General of the «‎Rosatom»‎ State Corporation Alexey Likhachev arrived in Bangladesh on a working visit. The trip of the head of the company is timed to coincide with the completion of the installation of the reactor vessel at the second power unit of the «‎Rooppur»‎ NPP.

The head of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina Wazed, launched the final stage of installation of the reactor vessel at the «‎Rooppur»‎ nuclear power plant site in the Ishwardi district. As part of the installation operation, the reactor was moved through a transport lock into the containment shell of the reactor building, after which the 334-ton structure was installed in its designed position using a polar crane.

Alexey Likhachev emphasized the importance of installing the second reactor vessel and positively characterized cooperation with the Republic of Bangladesh.

«‎A year ago we witnessed the installation of the first reactor vessel into its regular place, and today the same operation was completed at the second reactor. We see that the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Bangladesh is progressing actively, despite the obstacles that the pandemic has created for us. I am sincerely grateful to the entire team of builders for their coordinated work. I express my gratitude to the authorities of the Republic of Bangladesh for their full support of the project. Together, every day we bring closer the launch of the nuclear power plant, which the people of Bangladesh are so looking forward to,»‎ said the Director General of Rosatom.

«‎Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant will help us provide a better life for our countrymen. I once again thank Russia for its assistance in the construction of this power plant. We paid attention to the overall safety and reliability of the nuclear power plant construction. Safety was our main concern. Building a nuclear power plant is a very risky job,»‎ said Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed.

After the successful completion of the installation of the reactor vessel, the head of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, took part in the opening ceremony of the Education and Training Center.

The new modern training center at «‎Rooppur»‎ NPP is designed to train operating personnel of various categories and has no analogues in its technical equipment. Bangladeshi citizens will be trained in specialized classes and production workshops with state-of-the-art equipment. In addition, the Russian side has developed all the necessary educational and methodological programs, which in the future will allow the Bangladeshi side to independently train its personnel.

Also, as part of the visit, a meeting is planned between the Director General of Rosatom and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, during which issues of strategic cooperation between the state corporation and Bangladesh will be discussed.

The operation of installing the VVER-1200 reactor vessel of the second power unit into the design position was carried out in several stages. First, a heavy Liebherr LR-11350 crawler crane lifted the reactor vessel onto the transport portal of the power unit. Then, on a special transportation cart, it was moved to the central hall of the reactor compartment. Next, using a polar crane, the reactor vessel was turned into a vertical position and installed on a support ring in the reactor shaft. The VVER-1200 reactor vessel manufactured by «‎AEM Technologies»‎ (reactor vessel weight - 333.6 tons, length - 11.18 m, diameter - 4.57 m) underwent incoming inspection before installation in accordance with all regulatory requirements.

«‎The Rooppur»‎ NPP with two VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2400 MW is being built according to a Russian design 160 km from the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, in accordance with the general contract dated December 25, 2015. For the first nuclear power plant in Bangladesh, a Russian project with VVER-1200 reactors was selected, successfully implemented at two power units of the Novovoronezh NPP. This is an evolutionary project of generation III+, which fully meets international safety requirements.