Uranium Fuel Air Delivery for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Unit 2 in Bangladesh Delayed

Recently, the first batch of uranium nuclear fuel transport cargo flights for Unit 2 of Bangladesh's first nuclear power facility——the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP)—was forced to be suspended, resulting in the postponement of the originally scheduled delivery.

The batch of nuclear fuel was originally planned to arrive by air on September 24 at Hazrat·Shahjalal International Airport (Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport) in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Faqir·Mahbub·Anam (Faqir Mahbub Anam), Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology (Ministry of Science and Technology) of Bangladesh, stated that the cargo charter flight carrying the uranium fuel was originally scheduled to land on the 24th, but because it was not granted permission to enter Pakistani airspace, the flight could not proceed as scheduled, and the specific reason why Pakistan has not yet approved the airspace permit remains unclear. Anam added that the Russian side has provided a new timetable, and it is expected that this batch of uranium fuel will arrive in Bangladesh in the first week of October.

Sheikh·Mohammed·Tauhidul·Islam (Sheikh Mohammed Tauhidul Islam), Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Bangladesh, revealed that the ground handling, security, and dedicated loading, unloading, and reception preparations at Dhaka Airport had all been fully completed previously, but before takeoff, a notice regarding the airspace obstruction was received from the on-site liaison officer of Rosatom, causing the cargo to have to replan its flight route and schedule. Rosatom, as the general contractor and technology provider, has not yet made a formal comment on the airspace approval obstruction incident.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is located in Pakshi Union (Pakshi Union), Ishwardi Upazila (Ishwardi Upazila), Pabna District (Pabna District), Bangladesh, on the banks of the Padma River (Padma River). It is led by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) and supported by Rosatom with a full set of technology and engineering general contracting support. The nuclear power project plans to build two Generation III VVER-1200 pressurized water reactor units, with a total installed capacity of 2,400 megawatts (MW), and is a core backbone project for Bangladesh to ensure future clean baseload power supply.

Prior to this, the first batch of low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel for Unit 1 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant had already been successfully precision-manufactured by the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) in Russia in 2023, and transported by heavy transport aircraft to Dhaka, safely entering the nuclear power plant site under strict escort along a “green security corridor” composed of military and police. Bangladesh thereby officially entered the ranks of “quasi-nuclear energy countries” possessing nuclear fuel. As the construction of Unit 2 enters a critical sprint period, the rerouting and on-time delivery of this batch of fuel will directly affect the plant-wide integrated commissioning and subsequent fuel loading milestones.