Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant at Rooppur will begin trial operations in December, Science and Technology Adviser Dr Salehuddin Ahmed announced on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters at his ministry office, Dr Salehuddin said the fuel for the plant has already arrived in the country. “We had requested Russia to allow a November launch, but they informed us the trial run will begin in December,” he said.

He noted that a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had recently inspected the facility and made several recommendations, which are now being implemented. The per-unit cost of electricity from the plant has not yet been finalised, he added.

The IAEA’s Pre-Operational Safety Review Team (Pre-OSART), which concluded its mission on 27 August, assessed Unit 1 of the Rooppur plant at Dhaka’s request. The UN agency said the facility has demonstrated a strong commitment to operational safety, benchmarking its progress against international standards ahead of the commercial launch.

Situated in Pabna district on the banks of the Padma River, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant features two Russian-built VVER-1200 reactors with a combined capacity of 2,400 megawatts. Construction of Unit 1 began in 2017, followed by Unit 2 in 2018.

Bangladesh has also secured an extension of Russia’s loan disbursement timeline for the project until 2027. Under the original 2017 intergovernmental agreement, Moscow agreed to provide $11.38 billion of the project’s $12.65 billion cost as state credit, with disbursements scheduled through 2024. Loan repayments were to begin in March 2027 after a 10-year grace period.

Under the revised arrangement, the repayment start date has been pushed back to September 2028, giving Dhaka additional fiscal space as it prepares to integrate nuclear power into its national grid.

Once fully operational, the Rooppur plant is expected to play a transformative role in Bangladesh’s energy sector, diversifying supply sources and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.