Energy Nuclear Power Bangladesh · May 7, 2026

Engineers began loading uranium into Rooppur’s first reactor this week — a quietly historic moment for a country that has spent decades keeping the lights on with gas and frustration.

33rdCountry to generate nuclear electricity

2,400 MWTotal plant capacity (2 reactors)

$13BProject cost, 90% Russian state-backed

There are moments in a country’s history that don’t announce themselves with fanfare — they arrive quietly, in the form of engineers in hard hats and uranium fuel rods. Bangladesh had one of those moments this week, when technicians at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant on the banks of the Padma River began loading fuel into Unit 1’s reactor core. It’s the kind of milestone that takes decades to reach and a single news cycle to forget. It shouldn’t be forgotten.

Bangladesh is now the 33rd country on Earth to harness nuclear energy. That’s a small club — and until recently, it was one that developing nations rarely entered. The Rooppur plant, built with significant technical and financial support from Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom, has been under construction since 2017. At $13 billion, it’s the largest infrastructure project in the country’s history, with Russia financing a full 90% of the cost through a state loan. Whether you find that arrangement reassuring or uncomfortable probably depends on your worldview — but the reactors themselves are real, and they’re ready.