Rooppur nuclear fuel transport delayed after Pakistan withholds airspace clearance

The scheduled transport of nuclear fuel for Unit 2 of Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has been delayed after the cargo flight carrying the uranium was not granted clearance to use Pakistani airspace.

The shipment was scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on 24 September, but the flight could not proceed as planned, reports ANI.

"We heard that a cargo plane carrying uranium for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh was scheduled to arrive on 24 September. However, the flight was not given permission to use Pakistani airspace, so the uranium did not arrive in Bangladesh as planned," Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam told ANI over the phone.

"The exact reason for Pakistan not granting the airspace clearance is still unknown," he said.

A new date has been proposed, with Russia indicating the shipment could arrive in Bangladesh in the first week of October, the minister added.

Sheikh Mohammed Tauhidul Islam, joint secretary at the science ministry, said all preparations had been completed at the airport when officials were informed that the airspace was not clear.

"We were waiting, but the liaison officer from Rosatom told us that the airspace was not clear. So we couldn't send it. It may need to be rescheduled," he told ANI.

Officials could not confirm which country had blocked the flight's route. ANI has contacted a representative of Russia's state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom for clarification but had not received a response.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Bangladesh's first nuclear power facility, is being built in Rooppur village along the Padma River in Pabna's Ishwardi upazila with technical assistance from Rosatom and oversight from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

The project comprises two third-generation VVER-1200 reactor units with a combined generation capacity of 2,400MW.

The first shipment of low-enriched uranium fuel for Unit 1 arrived in Bangladesh from Russia in October 2023. The 164 fresh fuel assemblies, manufactured by Rosatom's Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, were flown to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport aboard a Russian heavy-lift cargo aircraft.

The fuel was then transported to the plant in radiation-shielded containers through a secured "green corridor" guarded by the Bangladesh Army and law enforcement agencies.

In April, Bangladesh formally entered the nuclear power era with the start of fuel loading at Unit 1 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, a milestone that sets the stage for the country's first nuclear-generated electricity to be added to the national grid.