Pakistan Airspace Issue Delays Uranium Shipment for Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Plant

The delivery of uranium fuel for the second unit of Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has been delayed after a Russian cargo aircraft reportedly failed to obtain permission to use Pakistan’s airspace.

The uranium shipment was originally scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on September 24, but the consignment did not reach its destination as planned due to the airspace issue.

Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology and Science and Technology Adviser Fakir Mahbub Anam said the government had been informed that the aircraft carrying uranium from Russia was unable to fly through Pakistan’s airspace.

"We learned that a cargo aircraft carrying uranium for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant was scheduled to arrive on September 24. However, the aircraft was not granted permission to use Pakistan’s airspace, preventing the shipment from reaching Bangladesh on schedule," he said.

Mahbub Anam added that the reason behind Pakistan’s reported refusal to grant overflight permission remains unclear.

According to the adviser, Russia has proposed a new delivery schedule, with the uranium shipment now expected to arrive during the first week of October.

Sheikh Mohammad Touhidul Islam, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Science and Technology, told ANI that all necessary preparations had been completed at the airport ahead of the expected arrival. However, a liaison officer from Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom informed authorities that the required airspace clearance had not been obtained, making it impossible to transport the uranium as scheduled.

He said a revised delivery timetable may now be required.

Ministry officials, however, said they could not independently confirm which country had denied overflight permission. ANI also contacted a Rosatom representative by email for clarification, but no response had been received at the time the report was published.

Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant is being constructed at Rooppur in Pabna’s Ishwardi Upazila, on the banks of the Padma River, with technical assistance from Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom. The project is being implemented under the supervision of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission.

The facility comprises two Generation III+ VVER-1200 nuclear reactors, with a combined electricity generation capacity of 2,400 megawatts.

In 2023, Bangladesh received the first shipment of uranium fuel for the plant’s first unit. The consignment, consisting of 164 fresh fuel assemblies manufactured at Rosatom’s Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant, was transported directly from Russia to Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport aboard a heavy cargo aircraft.

The uranium was later transferred to the Rooppur project site in specially shielded containers under strict international nuclear security protocols. The transportation was secured by members of the Bangladesh Army and other law enforcement agencies before the fuel was formally handed over in October 2023.