The government is considering setting up another nuclear power plant, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, as the demand for electricity continues to grow with the country looking for recovery after the pandemic slowdown. The plant will be its second nuclear power plant. 

Hasina was addressing a ceremony on Sunday to launch reactor pressure vessels inside the physical structure of unit-1 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant when she said her government has been exploring a suitable site in the country’s southern part to set up the second nuclear power plant. 

"If we are able to build another nuclear power plant, we will no longer face a power crisis," she was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper. The country is in process of setting up 100 special economic zones and would require power. 

The push came after Bangladesh recently graduated to the developing country category and has now been aiming to become developed by 2041. "We are committed to making Bangladesh a developed country by 2041," Hasina reiterated her pledge on Sunday. 

In June this year, Bangladesh had scrapped its plan to set up ten coal-fired power plants as fuel costs as well as resistance from climate activists grew. Activists have been pushing the government to opt for clean and renewable energy resources to meet growing demand. [Read More]

Currently, the total installed power generation capacity is around 25,253 Megawatt (MW) and the new addition to Rooppur nuclear power plant will scale up production by 2500 MW. By the next decade, the demand is estimated to touch around 40,000 MW and would require billions in investment to scale up the capacity. 

The electricity tariff doubled in the country since 2009 when Hasina came to power. However, almost 99 percent of the population has now access to electricity in contrast to just 3 percent in 1971 when it came into existence as an independent country. Coal and fuel still account for over two-thirds of its total power generation.  

(SAM)