Bangladesh Starts Fuelling Its First Nuclear Power Station

Bangladesh will begin loading uranium fuel into its first nuclear power station on Tuesday, a key step towards bringing the 2,400 megawatt plant online to ease pressure on the overstretched power grid. 

When operating, it could meet up to 10 percent of the power demands of the South Asian nation of 170 million people, according to the government. 

Construction began on the $11 billion Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in 2017, with initial power generation of around 300 MW hoped to come online by



August, before full production in late 2027.

"A controlled nuclear fission chain reaction will be initiated in the reactor core, once fuel loading is completed," Saikat Ahmed, the plant's senior scientific information officer told AFP. "This marks the start of the physical start-up phase." 

The grid in Bangladesh is stretched every year during the summer heat, when people crank up power-hungry air conditioners. But restrictions have been made worse after an energy crunch due to the Middle East war.