Bangladesh is set to become the world’s 33rd country to generate electricity using nuclear energy as the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant begins fuel loading.
The uranium fuel loading commenced at Unit-1 of the plant. The total generation capacity of Rooppur is 2,400 megawatts, divided into two units of 1,200 megawatts each. Around 300 megawatts of electricity is expected to be supplied to the national grid on a trial basis by August.
Full-scale commercial generation may take up to 10 months after trial generation begins. The Rooppur plant is projected to meet 10-12 percent of Bangladesh’s electricity demand.
The Rooppur project represents Bangladesh’s largest infrastructure initiative. The tax-to-GDP ratio in Bangladesh has hovered near 7% in recent years, among the lowest in Asia.
Bangladesh’s total tax take is roughly $35-40 billion annually. A targeted inheritance or net-wealth levy could raise approximately $1.5-1.7 billion a year.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that Bangladesh’s per capita GDP will surpass India’s by 2026. Currently, Bangladesh’s per capita GDP is nearly twice that of Assam.
