Pakistan denied airspace permission to a Russian cargo flight carrying a uranium shipment for Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, delaying the delivery that was scheduled to arrive on September 24. Pakistan cited technical and procedural issues, while Bangladesh confirmed that the shipment could not reach the country as planned.
Bangladesh’s Minister for Science and Technology Faqir Mahbub Anam told news agency ANI that the flight carrying uranium for the Rooppur plant had been scheduled to arrive on September 24 but was not given permission to use Pakistani airspace.
He said Russia had proposed a new date for the shipment, with the uranium expected to reach Bangladesh in the first week of October.
Pakistan calls it a technical issue
The Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka, in a clarification
released on Tuesday, said Islamabad follows established procedures for requests involving diplomatic flights and overflight clearances.
“Islamabad maintains an unwavering commitment to international diplomatic norms and processes all requests for diplomatic flight and overflight clearances within a standardised, predictable timeframe, strictly in accordance with our established regulatory guidelines and civil aviation protocols,” the High Commission said.
It said the matter appeared to concern “technical and procedural arrangements” related to flight routing and airspace permissions.
“With regard to the reports being quoted, the matter appears to relate to technical and procedural arrangements concerning flight routing and airspace permissions, which can occasionally require coordination among the relevant aviation and other authorities and may result in adjustments to flight schedules,” it added, according to ANI.
The Pakistan High Commission also stressed the importance it attaches to its relations with Bangladesh and urged that the issue be viewed only in a technical context.
It called for no “undue significance” to be attached to reports or narratives that could seek to undermine bilateral relations.
What was the planned route?
The uranium shipment was the first batch of nuclear fuel for Unit-2 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Its delivery was postponed on September 24 because the flight did not receive Pakistani airspace clearance.
An official, speaking to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity, said the cargo flight was scheduled to fly over Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and India before entering Bangladesh.
Representatives of Rosatom’s public relations agency told The Daily Star that fuel shipments for the second unit would resume in October using an alternative route.
“The remaining fuel batches bound for Bangladesh will arrive by December across seven separate cargo flights,” the spokesperson said.
Rosatom also said the delivery of nuclear fuel for Unit-2 would begin in October and continue through December, with the supplies expected to be completed by the end of December.
What is the Rooppur nuclear project?
Rooppur is Bangladesh’s first nuclear power facility and is being constructed with support from Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom.
The nuclear facility is located along the banks of the Padma River in Pakshi Union, Ishwardi Upazila, in Pabna district. It is being built under the oversight of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, with technical assistance from Rosatom.
The project consists of two third-generation VVER-1200 reactor units. Together, the two reactors are expected to generate 2,400 megawatts of baseload electricity, according to ANI.
The latest shipment was meant for Unit-2. Nuclear fuel deliveries for Unit-1 were completed in 2023.
Rosatom said the remaining Unit-2 fuel deliveries would proceed from October through December, with seven separate cargo flights planned to bring the remaining batches to Bangladesh.
