Uranium shipment reaches Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

The first shipment of uranium fuel for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant’s Unit 2 has reached the project site in Ishwardi, Pabna, under tight security.

A convoy carrying the nuclear fuel entered the plant premises at around 12:20pm on Saturday (October 3), Pabna Deputy Commissioner Aminul Islam confirmed.

The shipment is intended for the initial fuel requirements of Unit 2 as well as refuelling needs for Unit 1.

The convoy travelled under heavy security provided by the Bangladesh Army, with members of the Special Response Battalion (SRB), police and intelligence agencies accompanying the shipment.

The uranium arrived in Bangladesh from Russia on a special cargo flight that landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at around 11:30pm on Friday. Officials from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority received the shipment at the airport.

At around 7am on Saturday, three specialised lorries carrying the uranium left Dhaka for Rooppur under Army supervision.

The shipment marks another step in preparations for fuel loading and operations at the two-unit nuclear power plant.