Bangladesh Rooppur nuclear fuel transport disrupted as Pakistan withholds airspace clearance

Nuclear fuel for Unit 2 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh was scheduled to arrive on September 24, but it has not arrived yet because of airspace blockage.

"We heard that a cargo plane carrying uranium for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh was scheduled to arrive on September 24. However, the flight was not given permission to use Pakistani airspace, so the uranium did not arrive in Bangladesh as planned. As of now, the exact reason for Pakistan not granting the airspace clearance is still unknown", Faqir Mahbub Anam, Bangladesh's Minister for Science and Technology, told ANI over the phone.

"A new date has been proposed, with Russia indicating the first week of October for the uranium to arrive in Bangladesh", he added.

"We had completed all the preparations at the airport and were waiting, but the liaison officer from Rosatom told us that the airspace was not clear. So we couldnt send it. It may need to be rescheduled", Sheikh Mohammed Tauhidul Islam, Joint Secretary to the Bangladesh Science and Technology Ministry, told ANI over the phone.

They were not able to say which country had blocked the airspace.

With support from Russias Rosatom, this nuclear power plant is being built. To find out what the issue is, ANI sent an email to a Rosatom representative. But so far, there has been no response.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, Bangladeshs first nuclear power facility, is being constructed in Rooppur village, located along the banks of the Padma River in Pakshi Union, Ishwardi Upazila, Pabna District. With technical assistance from the Russian Federations State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) and under the oversight of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

The project involves the construction of two third-generation VVER-1200 reactor units, which will collectively generate 2,400 megawatts of baseload electricity.

Bangladesh officially ushered in the nuclear age as the initial shipment of low-enriched uranium fuel for Unit 1 of the 2,400 MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) arrived safely from Russia. Manufactured by Rosatom's Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, the 164 fresh fuel assemblies were flown directly from Russia into Dhakas Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport aboard a heavy-lift Russian cargo aircraft under strict international safeguards.

From the capital, the radiation-shielded containers were transported along a heavily fortified "green corridor" guarded by the Bangladesh Army and law enforcement agencies to the plant site in Ishwardi, Pabna, where an official handover ceremony was held in October 2023. (ANI)