Pabna, Sept 29 (V7N) – Russia will begin supplying nuclear fuel for the second unit of Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in October, following the resolution of complications related to the use of airspace along the shipment route.
Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom confirmed the development in a statement on Monday.
According to the statement, the supply of nuclear fuel for Rooppur’s second unit will begin in October 2026 and continue through December, with the delivery process expected to be completed by the end of December.
Under the project schedule and agreement, a total of 163 fuel assemblies for the second unit are expected to be transported from Russia to Bangladesh on seven chartered flights between October and December. Some fuel required for the first unit will also be delivered during the period.
The shipments from Russia normally pass through the airspace of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India before reaching Bangladesh. The planned deliveries were recently disrupted after the required airspace clearances were not secured from all countries along the route.
A fuel shipment had originally been scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on September 24, but the flight could not proceed because of an objection concerning the use of one country’s airspace. The issue has since been resolved, according to the latest information, and Russia has issued a revised delivery schedule.
The first shipment of uranium fuel for Rooppur’s first unit arrived in Bangladesh on September 28, 2023, and was transported by road to the project site the following day.
Fuel loading for the first unit began on April 28 this year, and a total of 163 fuel assemblies were gradually installed in the reactor core by May.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, the country’s first nuclear power project, is being built with technical and financial assistance from Russia. The project has two VVER-1200 reactors with a combined generation capacity of 2,400 megawatts.
The Generation III+ reactors are designed to meet international nuclear safety standards. Rosatom’s engineering division is serving as the project’s general designer and contractor.
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