Bangladesh has received a fresh shipment of uranium fuel from Russia for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, marking another important milestone for the country’s first nuclear energy project.

According to Kabir Hossain, Project Director of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, a Russian cargo aircraft carrying the uranium shipment landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Friday night. He confirmed the arrival but did not provide further operational details.

The delivery had initially been expected to reach Bangladesh in September. However, the shipment was delayed after Pakistan did not grant clearance for the aircraft to use its airspace, forcing a rescheduling of the transport plan.

Pakistan later described the matter as a technical and procedural issue rather than a political one. The Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka stated that diplomatic flight and overflight requests are processed according to established aviation regulations and that routing permissions can sometimes require coordination among multiple authorities, leading to schedule adjustments.

The High Commission also stressed the importance of Pakistan’s relationship with Bangladesh and urged observers not to attach undue significance to reports that could negatively affect bilateral ties.

The uranium fuel was intended for Unit 2 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant and had originally been scheduled to arrive on 24 September. Officials from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Science and Technology said preparations at the airport had been completed before the delay was announced by representatives linked to ROSATOM, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation.

Rosatom is providing technical assistance for the construction of the Rooppur facility, which is being developed under the supervision of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

Located in Rooppur village on the banks of the Padma River in Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District, the plant is Bangladesh’s first nuclear power station.

The project consists of two Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors with a combined installed capacity of 2,400 megawatts, designed to provide reliable baseload electricity and strengthen the country’s long-term energy security.

The latest delivery follows the historic arrival of the first batch of low-enriched uranium fuel for Unit 1 in October 2023, when Bangladesh formally entered the era of nuclear power generation.

That shipment comprised 164 fresh fuel assemblies manufactured at ROSATOM's Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant and transported directly from Russia to Dhaka under strict international nuclear safeguards.

Following its arrival in 2023, the fuel was moved from Dhaka to the Rooppur site in specially protected, radiation-shielded containers via a heavily secured corridor guarded by the Bangladesh Army and other law-enforcement agencies before being formally handed over at the plant.

Once both reactors become fully operational, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is expected to be one of the largest electricity-generating facilities in Bangladesh, supporting growing industrial demand, reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and contributing to a more diversified national energy mix.

ANI