Rooppur Unit-2 uranium shipment likely to arrive in first week of October

Highlights:

• Unit 2 fuel may arrive in early October
• Rosatom to start Rooppur Unit 2 fuel delivery in October
• 24 Sept shipment delayed over Pakistani airspace
• Rosatom to deliver fuel in several flights through December
• Rooppur has two 1,200MW VVER-1200 units

The second shipment of uranium fuel required to start Unit 2 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant may arrive in Bangladesh in the first week of next month (October), Russian nuclear company Rosatom has assured the Ministry of Science and Technology.

TBS learned this from officials of the ministry and people involved in the project. 

Initially, the shipment was scheduled to arrive on 24 September but was delayed after the Russian authorities failed to secure permission to use Pakistani airspace for the cargo flight.

A senior ministry official, speaking to TBS on condition of anonymity, said transportation of the fuel from Russia to Rooppur is the responsibility of the Russian authorities under the project agreement.

"Rosatom has informed us that they will arrange the fuel shipment as soon as possible. They have mentioned 1 October as a possible date, while the first week of October is the latest timeframe," he said.

"According to the schedule, the fuel was supposed to arrive on 24 September. We had made all necessary preparations at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Later, Rosatom informed us that the flight could not operate because permission to use the airspace had not been obtained," he said.

Rosatom's Bangladesh office issued a statement today (28 September) that the delivery of nuclear fuel for Unit 2 is scheduled to begin in October and continue through December 2026, with the supplies to be completed by the end of December.

The fuel will be shipped in several flights, in accordance with the contract terms and the project schedule, according to it.

Following the delay, Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam told the media that a cargo aircraft carrying uranium for the Rooppur plant had been scheduled to arrive on 24 September.

"However, the flight was not permitted to use Pakistani airspace. As a result, the uranium did not reach Bangladesh as planned," he said, adding that said Bangladesh did not know the exact reason behind this.

Today, TBS also repeatedly tried to contact the minister and ministry Secretary Md Anwar Hossain for an update but could not reach them. Messages seeking information on the shipment also went unanswered.

Rooppur project director Dr Md Kabir Hossain told this newspaper, "I have no information about this. However, I saw the minister make statements about the issue in the media."

Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant is being built in Rooppur, Ishwardi, Pabna, with technical assistance from Rosatom and supervision by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

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

The first shipment of low-enriched uranium fuel for Unit 1 arrived from Russia on 28 September 2023. It contained 164 fuel assemblies manufactured at Rosatom's Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant.

The fuel was transported to Rooppur in radiation-shielded containers through a secured "green corridor", with the Bangladesh Army and law enforcement agencies providing security.

Bangladesh entered the nuclear power generation era in April this year when fuel loading began at Unit 1, paving the way for the country's first nuclear-generated electricity to be connected to the national grid.