Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom says the first unit of Bangladesh’s Ruppur nuclear power plant could start feeding the grid this winter.

Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev met Bangladesh chief adviser Muhammad Yunus in Moscow on Monday. Likhachev said the company looked forward to Bangladesh’s “first nuclear winter”, when the new unit begins generating power.

The Ruppur plant in Pabna district will have two units with a combined capacity of 2,400 MW once complete, making it Bangladesh’s first nuclear power station.

The project is the centrepiece of Bangladesh’s push to diversify its power mix beyond gas and imported fuel. Rosatom is building the plant under an intergovernmental deal signed in 2011. Grid connection tests and final safety clearances are expected to decide the exact timeline for the first unit.

Bangladesh has long planned nuclear power as part of its energy mix, and Ruppur’s completion will mark a major milestone for the country’s power sector. The plant sits in Pabna district on the Padma river.