(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) The 2.4-gigawatt Rooppur nuclear power plant is a project worth US$13 billion and will take more than 10 years to construct. The once sleepy town is now home to many Russian workers and new job opportunities.
When fully completed, the two nuclear reactors are expected to provide 10% of Bangladesh's electricity. The country of 170 million people has been hit hard by the energy crisis caused by conflicts in the Middle East.
Md Zahedul Hasan, manager of the Bangladesh Nuclear Power Plant Company, said the first nuclear reactor will be commissioned by the end of this year and the second will be operational within a year.
The nuclear power plant is located on the banks of the Padma River, 150 kilometers from Dhaka. Bangladesh’s energy sector is dominated by fossil fuels, especially natural gas. Coal, oil and renewable energy make up the rest.
The project is being built jointly with Rosatom. Thousands of Russian workers have been building and installing equipment here for several years. There is a Russian community here, including shops, restaurants, etc.
The store's signage is in three languages: Bengali, English and Russian. Some restaurants can serve borscht.
Alexander Vladimirovich Skvortsov, a Russian installation technician, said he could choose to work in Türkiye or Bangladesh. He chose this place and moved his family here in 2024.
Nuclear power plant projects also change local economies. Md Emon Khan, 28, left his job at a Dhaka garment factory and returned to Lupur, where he now sells fruits and vegetables to the workers. "I can speak a little Russian and they can speak Bengali."
Nuclear power plant officials said strict safety measures were in place and lessons learned from past nuclear power plant accidents.
Mohammad Nafiz, 15, said he felt there was nothing to fear. “We are delighted that Rubble is known around the world, and my friends and I hope to work in nuclear power plants after graduating from engineering school.”
But not everyone is so confident. 80-year-old Md Yunus Ali lives a 15-minute walk from the nuclear power plant. He said that as early as decades ago, there were objections to the construction of nuclear facilities in such a densely populated area.
"Not long ago, they did a compressor test and it made a loud noise that woke up sleeping children."
Ali is a retired paper mill worker. "I'm old, so I have nothing to fear. But I have children and grandchildren, and I want them to be safe."
The idea of building a nuclear power plant in Lubr dates back to the 1960s. After Bangladesh became independent, it tried to cooperate with Saudi Arabia, France, China, and South Korea, but no agreement was reached. Finally, Bangladesh signed an agreement with Moscow in 2015. Russia provides loans that can cover about 90% of the initial cost of the project.
Construction began in 2017. The nuclear power plant project has been repeatedly delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and difficulties in delivering equipment and making payments due to sanctions imposed after Russia invaded Ukraine.
There have also been allegations of corruption surrounding the project, including by ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and members of her family. They deny the accusations.
For most Bangladeshis, the main concern today is when the power supply will be stable in Lupur.
Belly Begum, a 55-year-old farmer, said that irrigation of farmland has become a problem due to frequent power outages. "I hope that the Lubul nuclear power plant will be operational soon, and we will all benefit from it. I hope that the power supply will be uninterrupted 24 hours a day, because the nuclear power plant is near my home."
