Pakistan Denies Overflight Permission, Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Fuel Transport Blocked

Recently, the nuclear fuel transport for Unit 2 of Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) was delayed because Pakistan did not approve overflight permission.

Faqir·Mahbub·Anam, Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of Bangladesh, stated that the chartered flight was originally scheduled to arrive at Hazrat·Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on September 24, but could not proceed because it was not granted permission to enter Pakistani airspace. It is reported that the route usually passes through Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and India before entering Bangladesh. Ground handling, security and loading and unloading on the Bangladeshi side were ready, but before takeoff, notification was received from the on-site liaison officer of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, and the cargo was forced to have its route and schedule replanned.

Shabid·Ullah·Wazir, Press Counsellor of the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka, neither confirmed nor denied the related allegations, saying only that Pakistan handles overflight permission in accordance with international diplomatic norms and civil aviation agreements, that this matter is a technical procedural arrangement concerning flight routes and airspace permission, that coordination is occasionally required and may lead to schedule adjustments, and that it should be viewed from the technical background of the matter.

According to reports, the nuclear fuel delivery for Unit 2 has been rescheduled and is expected to be completed in batches through seven cargo flights from the first week of October to December. Officials from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) confirmed that the airspace issue has been resolved, transport will begin on October 1, and all remaining batches will arrive before December.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is located on the banks of the Padma River in Pakshi Union, Ishwardi Upazila, Pabna District. It is led by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, with Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation providing technology and general engineering contracting. The plant is planned to have two Generation III pressurized water reactor VVER-1200 units, with a total installed capacity of 2,400 megawatts. The first batch of Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) fuel for Unit 1 was manufactured by the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) in Russia in 2023 and transported to Dhaka, after which Bangladesh entered the ranks of “quasi-nuclear energy countries” possessing nuclear fuel.