The reinforced frame of the core catcher, weighing 58 tons, and the embedded part for the core catcher, weighing 7.5 tons, have been installed for Unit 2 of the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh. Engineering Division of ROSATOM – ASE is the General Contractor of the project.
“Completion of installation of reinforced frame and embedded part of Core Catcher marks the beginning of the next important stage related to the erection of Unit 2 reactor building. In the nearest future, our experts will proceed with installation of the core catcher - a unique technology, developed by Russian nuclear engineers and one of the main passive safety systems in the design of Rooppur NPP,” said Mr. Sergey Lastochkin, Vice President of ASE and Project Director, Rooppur NPP Construction said. “All works are on schedule.”
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Rooppur NPP with two VVER-1200 reactors and the total capacity of 2400 MW is being constructed under the Russian design, 160 km from Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, in accordance with General Contract dated 25 December 2015. The General Contractor for Rooppur NPP construction is Atomstroyexport (Engineering Division of Rosatom).
The Russian design with VVER-1200 reactors that was selected for the first NPP in Bangladesh, was successfully implemented at Unit 1 of Novovoronezh NPP-2. This is an evolutionary GenIII+ design which fully complies with all international safety requirements. In 2017, the new Russian power unit was named among the three best nuclear power units in the world by the well-known international magazine POWER (USA). In 2015-2016, preparatory works were performed at the construction site, detailed design documentation and substantiation materials for receiving the license for the units siting and construction were developed. In 2017, Rooppur NPP project implementation continued according to the schedule. On November 4, 2017, the regulatory authority of Bangladesh (BAERA) issued the license for the NPP designing and construction. On November 30, 2017, the ceremony of first concrete pouring for the foundation of Unit 1, was held. On July 14, 2018, the active construction phase of Rooppur NPP Unit 2 started, i.e. the ceremony of first concrete pouring for the unit foundation was held. Core meltdown retention device (core catcher) installation works started at Unit 1 on August 18, 2018. The works at the main buildings and structures of Units 1 and 2 are currently in progress.
ASE (Engineering Division of Rosatom State Corporation) was established by merging the leading companies in the industry: ASE EC JSC (Nizhny Novgorod), Atomstroyexport JSC (Moscow), Atomenergoproject JSC (Moscow) and ATOMPROJECT JSC (St. Petersburg). ASE is one of the leaders in global nuclear engineering business and accounts for more than 30% of the global NPP construction market. The Engineering Division operates in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in Asian-Pacific region. 80% of its stock of orders is overseas projects. The company implements projects of design and construction of large NPPs, provides a comprehensive range of EPC, EPC(m) services and is developing Multi-D technologies for complex engineering facilities management. The Engineering Division draws on lessons learned from over the 50-year history of the nuclear power industry in Russia and state-of-the-art technologies.