The reactor pressure vessel of the second unit of Rooppur nuclear power plant will be installed in the middle of October, said Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman.

At a seminar at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre auditorium in the capital on Saturday, he said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the vessel virtually.

Speaking at the seminar organised by the Atomic Reporters Bangladesh (ARB), an organisation of journalists working in various media covering the science and technology sectors, in regard to the safety of Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Yeafesh Osman said the safety of the people of the country is of the utmost importance to the prime minister.

He said millions were being spent to ensure safety.

Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology Ziaul Hasan said it was necessary to move away from fossil fuels to meet the government's goal of controlling carbon emissions. 

Ziaul Hasan said, to achieve the government's goal of controlling carbon emissions, it is necessary to move away from traditional fossil fuels to green energy such as nuclear power.

Dr Shawkat, nuclear scientist and managing director of NPCBL, said the investment in the plant was not more than those made by other countries for such plants, while the production cost of each unit would not be too high.

He, however, did not disclose the actual cost as the plant power will be sold to the Power Development Board.

At the seminar, Professor of Nuclear Engineering Department of Dhaka University Md Shafiqul Islam showed the cost of power generation from different sources and the cost of nuclear power generation.

He said nuclear power is much more cost-effective than other sources, except domestic gas. 

President of the ARB Ariful Sazzad and its secretary Fazle Rabbi also spoke at the event.

Sazzad ​​said the concerned authorities should work on how to get benefits from the use of nuclear power in other sectors as well as power generation.

Officials of the science and technology ministry also participated in the seminar.  

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