economic impact of rooppur nuclear power plant

Over the last several years Bangladesh has made a significant

progress in the development of the power sector. Government
has undertaken various projects to increase the generation of
electricity to cope with the rapid increases in the demand to
support the economic development.
Over the past decade, Bangladesh has made significant
progress in the development of its power sector. The
available installed capacity, excluding captive power and
renewable energy, increased from 5823 MW in 2009-10 to
18079 MW in FY 19. Currently 93 percent people of
Bangladesh have access to electricity facilities. The
Government of Bangladesh has undertaken various
projects to increase the generation of electricity to cope
with the rapid increases in the demand to support the
economic development.  Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is
one of the top priority projects. The first-ever nuclear
power plant of the country will have two power units - each
of 1,200MW capacity. The Power System Master Plan
(PSMP) 2016 envisaged a strategic plan under which
power generation capacity will be 24000 MW by 2021,
40000 MW by 2030 and 60000 MW by 2041. Thus,
Rooppur NPP will play an important role in the power
sector of the country to ensure energy security of the
nation.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) will help us to secure a
sufficient supply of electricity to derive the desired level of
economic growth for socio-economic development and thus
improving the basic livelihoods of the urban and rural
populations of our nation.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently being built on
the banks of the Padma river in Ruppur, Pabna, and will be the
first nuclear power plant in Bangladesh.
The proposed nuclear power plant in Rooppur can be a game
changer for the South Asian country that has one of the highest
population densities in the world. The power generated from a
nuclear plant will not only be cheaper than that from other
sources, but will also be advantageous as the nuclear fuel has
longer lasting reserves compared to other conventional sources.
Presently, Bangladesh is implementing a master-plan to
produce 24,000 MW, 40,000 MW and 60,000 MW in the year
2021, 2030 and 2041, respectively. The Power System Master
Plan (PSMP), 2016 aims to ensure supply of electricity to all
citizen and economic sectors at affordable costs at all times
through a well-balanced power generation environment that
maximizes the respective advantages of different types of
power generation methods, including nuclear power, thermal
power, hydropower generation and power imports from
neighboring countries. About 70% power generation plan will
be covered by coal and gas and the remaining 30% will be
covering by nuclear power, hydropower generation,
renewables and power imports from neighboring countries.
Nuclear power is considered as the base load energy and the
share of nuclear electricity generation beyond 2030 will be
about 10% of the total power generation. Nuclear power plants
(NPPs) are capable of generating low cost electricity and
meeting modern society’s demand for reliable and affordable
electricity. Nuclear energy is clean air energy, avoids polluting
the air that we breathe. Nuclear energy is a part of a diverse
and balanced generation mix; energy security is strengthened
when a nation uses it. Nuclear construction projects are the
growth engine for the region where they are constructed and
the NPPs are valuable long-term national assets which help to
support healthy economy by providing employment and
revenues from taxes.

Social and economic performances of Bangladesh have

been impressive. Bangladesh has made remarkable
progress in accelerating growth, creating jobs and
reducing poverty. The average annual rate of growth of
GDP has now crossed the 6.5% level, which is presently
among the highest rates of growth globally. According to
Seventh Five Year Plan projection, poverty rate has fallen
below 25% in 2015. Bangladesh became a Lower Middle-
Income Country in 2015.
Having climbed the stairs to low middle-income country,
Bangladesh now aspires to move up to the upper middle-
income status by 2030. Furthermore, Bangladesh also
wants to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030.
Bangladesh has been implementing Rooppur Nuclear
Power Plant with an objective to produce 2400 MWs of
additional electricity to meet its demand. However, cost of
implementing and maintain the plant is high and led to
skepticism with regards to financial and economic viability.
This paper is an attempt in this context. The paper tries to
assess both the financial and economic feasibility of the
plant using available data. 

It is estimated that through multiplier effect in

consumption, investment and government expenditure, in
2024, the change in GDP due to the change in electricity
production through Rooppur Power Plant will be
equivalent to $1.4 billion, in terms of the present value
through. This amount will be generated due to the
increase in consumption, investment, government
expenditure and net exports resulting from the increase in
electricity production. We estimate that over the life time of
the Rooppur Power Plant, a total of $99.3 billion worth of
economic benefit will be generated through this effect. The
net economic benefit will be huge, approximately $71.4
billion which is the difference between discounted
economic benefit and discounted economic cost.
Overall, economically Rooppur Power Plant is going to be
very profitable economically in the long-run and will boost
the GDP and economic growth hugely.
Bangladesh is in the stage to become the 33rd nuclear power-
producing nation after the successful construction work at
Rooppur, Pabna [1]. The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP)
is expected to generate additional 2400 MW of power to the
national grid by the year 2024 [2], helping the nation to address
the expanding demand for electricity.

Bangladesh has identified atomic power as a keystone of a

sustainable energy framework. Usage of RNPP is a piece of
energy security plan of Bangladesh and development of 2000
MW atomic limit has turned into an integral piece of the Vision
2021 of Bangladesh Government.
Rooppur Nuclear power plants (RNPP) will not only
be able to generate low-cost electricity and meeting
current society's demand for reliable and affordable
electricity but also it will provide employment
opportunities and revenues from taxes which will help to
support a healthy economy.