- Fuel delivery for Rooppur plant delayed; now expected early October.
Pakistan has described its refusal to grant airspace clearance for a flight carrying nuclear fuel for Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant as a technical and procedural matter. The denial delayed the planned arrival of uranium fuel for the plant’s second reactor, with Bangladeshi officials saying the shipment was due on September 24. Pakistan’s High Commission in Dhaka said flight and overflight requests are processed under established aviation procedures, while Bangladesh said Russia has proposed a new delivery window in the first week of October.
Pakistan Cites Procedures
In a clarification issued on Tuesday, the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka said Islamabad remains committed to international diplomatic norms and processes requests for diplomatic flights and overflight clearances within a standardised timeframe.
The mission said the reported issue appeared to concern technical and procedural arrangements involving flight routing and airspace permissions. Such matters, it added, can require coordination between aviation and other authorities and may lead to changes in flight schedules.
Pakistan also stressed the importance it places on its relations with Bangladesh, urging that the issue be viewed in its “proper technical context” rather than through narratives that could affect bilateral ties.
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Uranium Shipment Delayed
Bangladesh’s Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam told ANI that a cargo aircraft carrying uranium for Rooppur was scheduled to arrive on September 24 but did not receive permission to use Pakistani airspace.
He said the precise reason for the clearance not being granted was still unclear. Russia has now indicated that the shipment could arrive during the first week of October.
Sheikh Mohammed Tauhidul Islam, joint secretary at Bangladesh’s Science and Technology Ministry, said preparations at the airport had been completed, but a Rosatom liaison officer informed officials that the airspace was not clear.
About Rooppur
The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is Bangladesh’s first nuclear power project and is being built with technical assistance from Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom under the oversight of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.
The project comprises two VVER-1200 reactors with a combined capacity of 2,400MW.
The first shipment of low-enriched uranium fuel for Unit 1 arrived in Bangladesh from Russia in 2023. The 164 fuel assemblies were flown to Dhaka aboard a Russian cargo aircraft and subsequently transported under security arrangements to the plant in Ishwardi, Pabna.
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