Just finalized a major nuclear power deal with Russia, Bangladesh immediately turns to choosing between China and the UK
Bangladesh has invested over $12.6 billion and spent more than a decade building the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, where two Russian-made VVER-1200 reactors are scheduled to go online in 2027–2028. This project was meant to be a landmark milestone in the country’s nuclear industrialization. Yet even before the project is fully completed, the government has already decided to permanently halt construction of any new large-scale conventional nuclear power plants—effectively rejecting this development path just after taking the first step toward large-scale nuclear energy.
Even more unusual is that instead of continuing its collaboration with Russia, Bangladesh has stepped out of a single-supplier framework and is now actively engaging both the UK’s Rolls-Royce and Chinese nuclear enterprises to discuss procurement of SMR (Small Modular Reactors).
Energy Minister Mahmood said the government is considering building power plants with capacities of 300 to 400 megawatts—smaller in scale, capable of being constructed along riverbanks, and deployable faster than traditional reactors. Moreover, Mahmood was very direct: Bangladesh will no longer build large nuclear power plants because of the enormous debt burden.
The $12.65 billion Rooppur project has faced repeated delays due to multiple factors including the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and instability in Iran. The continuous depreciation of the Bangladeshi taka has further increased domestic currency construction costs. For a developing country, spending over ten years and hundreds of millions of dollars on a single power plant—and already struggling under debt before it even generates electricity—this is a lesson Bangladesh does not wish to repeat. From Bangladesh’s perspective, there is clearly a significant technological gap between the two competing bidders.
China’s ACP100 small modular reactor has already achieved commercial grid connection in Hainan Changjiang, boasting real-world operational experience and mass production capabilities. It is one of the few SMR technologies globally to have successfully entered commercial operation.
In contrast, Rolls-Royce’s UK SMR project remains at the prototype design and national approval stage; the first unit won’t be completed until after 2030, and there are currently no overseas deployment cases.
One contender has proven engineering cases, while the other is still in R&D phase—but they are being treated as equals in procurement negotiations. This clearly indicates that Bangladesh is not solely evaluating technical maturity, but also factoring in geopolitical and diplomatic considerations.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870590106578944/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.