The transport gateway, or lock, has been delivered by Rosatom to the construction site of the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh for the unit 2 reactor. “Implementation of the Rooppur NPP project continues, both in terms of unit construction and in terms of equipment delivery, installation and commissioning,” said Alexey Derii, Vice President for projects in Bangladesh at ASE JSC.
The transport lock is an important part of the reactor compartment. It comprises a cylindrical vessel with two canvas covers on the side of the sealed and non-sealed zones. When assembled, the gateway weighs 235 tonnes, its length is 12.7 metres, and its diameter 10 metres. Its main function is to ensure radioactive substances remain in the containment zone and fire protection. During normal operation of the plant, cargo is transported through the transport gateway to the maintenance bay during equipment repairs, import of fresh fuel and removal of used fuel.
The Rooppur plant is being built by Rosatom on the eastern bank of the Ganges River in Bangladesh’s Pabna district, about 160 km northwest of Dhaka. It will comprise two VVER-1200 reactors. In November 2011, Russia and Bangladesh signed an inter-governmental agreement on cooperation in the construction of the NPP and in mid-December 2015, a general contract was signed. Construction began in 2021. Construction of unit 1 began in November 2017 and unit 2 in July 2018. The plant’s design life is 60 years with the possibility of extending its operating life for another 20 years. Fresh fuel for the units was delivered to the site in the latter part of 2023. Recent political changes in Bangladesh have not affected work on the NPP.
