The reactor pressure vessel and first two steam generators for Rooppur unit 2 have started their journey from the Volgodonsk branch of AEM-Technology JSC in Russia to the construction site in Bangladesh.

The pressure vessel took two years to manufacture in a process that included 768 operations, AEM-Technology said, and has undergone quality control operations and testing, including hydraulic tests at 1.4 times higher than its working pressure. The vessel, which weighs 320 tonnes and is 12 metres long, together with two 340-tonne steam generators, each 14 metres in length, will be transported by barge to the port of Novorossiysk, from where they will be shipped to Bangladesh, a sea voyage of about 14,000 km.

The steam generators and RPV set off on their journey from Russia to Bangladesh (Image: Rosatom)

AEM-Technology is part of Rosatom's engineering division, Atomenergomash. It claims to be the only company in Russia that produces complete sets of nuclear steam generating installations for nuclear power plants, and its facilities can produce up to four such sets of equipment per year. It has manufactured over 50 types of equipment for the two VVER-1200 units at Rooppur, including reactor vessels, steam generators, main circulation pipelines, main circulation pumps and other equipment. In total, over 4000 tonnes of equipment will be shipped to the construction site on the banks of the river Ganges.