Flight carrying Rooppur nuclear fuel denied Pakistan airspace permission

The transport of uranium fuel from Russia for the second unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has been delayed. The cargo flight scheduled for September 24 could not reach Bangladesh as permission to use Pakistan's airspace was not granted.

A report by ANI said the consignment was supposed to reach Bangladesh on September 24. However, the cargo aircraft carrying uranium could not operate the flight on schedule as it did not receive permission to use Pakistan's airspace.

Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, and Science and Technology, Fakir Mahbub Anam, told ANI that a cargo aircraft carrying uranium for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant was supposed to arrive in Bangladesh on September 24. However, the flight was not given permission to use Pakistan's airspace. As a result, the uranium did not reach Bangladesh as planned.

He said the exact reason why Pakistan did not grant permission to use its airspace is still not known.

The minister said a new date has been proposed for bringing the consignment. Russia has said the consignment may reach Bangladesh in the first week of October.

Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Sheikh Mohammad Tauhidul Islam, said all preparations had been completed at the airport to receive the fuel. Later, Rosatom's liaison officer informed them that permission to use the airspace had not been obtained. As a result, the fuel could not be transported on schedule.

He told ANI that a new schedule may need to be set.

However, Bangladeshi officials could not say with certainty which country's permission was not obtained, preventing the flight from taking its scheduled route. ANI contacted a representative of Russia's state nuclear fuel agency Rosatom to clarify the matter. However, no response was received by the time the report was published.

Bangladesh's first nuclear power plant, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, is being built on the banks of the Padma river in Rooppur of Pabna's Ishwardi upazila. The project is being implemented with the technical assistance of Russia's state nuclear agency Rosatom and under the supervision of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

The project has two third-generation VVER-1200 reactor units. The combined power generation capacity of the two units is 2,400 megawatts.

The first consignment of low-enriched uranium fuel for the first unit arrived in Bangladesh from Russia in October 2023. A total of 164 new fuel assemblies produced at Rosatom's Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant were brought to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on a Russian cargo aircraft.

Later, the fuel was taken to the Rooppur project area through a 'green corridor' under strict security in radiation-resistant containers. Members of the Bangladesh Army and law enforcement agencies were in charge of security at that time.

In April this year, fuel loading began at the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. This advanced the plant's power generation preparations another step forward.