Russian Rosatom's Director General (DG) Alexy Likhachev hopes that Bangladesh will be able to run the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) independently after getting its operation rights on completion of the project work.
"Our experience shows that by this time the local team will gain the necessary competencies to run the plant independently," he said while talking to newsmen recently.
"In any case, we will not throw away the project in a helpless situation."
"Of course, we understand how important it is to guarantee the safe operation of a nuclear power plant after it is handed over to the customer, and how much it depends on professionalism of the NPP operation team," he added.
Russian construction contract provides option for training of key Bangladeshi specialists concerned by Rosatom.
Under the general contract, Russia's obligation is to train 1,119 key operation-related personnel and 305 reserve personnel.
The training takes place in two phases. The first phase is at the Novovoronezh NPP in Russia, the reference project of Rooppur NPP, and the second phase is at Rooppur NPP Training Centre in Bangladesh, Mr Likhachev further said.
Since 2018, more than 660 Bangladeshis have participated in the training programme.
Some 240 people have already completed the training in Russia - these are operation personnel - who will work in the first unit. A total of about 300 people have completed the training, he noted.
"We started work of the local training centre even during the NPP construction, so that the personnel are ready for the key milestones of the project - start of commissioning, delivery of fresh nuclear fuel to the site, and physical start-up of the power unit."
"After the start of operation, we will provide maximum support to the Bangladeshi personnel to ensure safe operation of the plant," the Rosatom DG also said.
"Russian cooperation will not end even after the Rooppur NPP construction is over. We will interact during the plant's operation and supply nuclear fuel to it."
"We are now actively working on the construction of four cooling towers of the RNPP project," he mentioned.
"We are making every effort to ensure that despite all the difficulties associated with the pandemic, the plant's construction moves forward on schedule, and the site is ready next year for delivery of the first batch of nuclear fuel."
"We understand that the changes in political, economic and logistic situations pose considerable risks, but we are constantly working to mitigate these risks," Mr Likhachev added, regarding the NPP project completion.
And, of course, Rosatom is ready to work on new projects. In case Bangladesh decides to build a new NPP, the Russian experience - gained during the Rooppur NPP construction - will be very useful, he opined.
