WNAM MONITORING: A special cargo plane carrying uranium fuel for Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant arrived late Friday from Russia, officials said.
The nuclear fuel landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital Dhaka and moved towards the operation site, the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project.
Confirming the landing, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M. Rashiduzzaman Millat told reporters that the police and other security agencies took all necessary measures to ensure the safe delivery of the uranium shipment to its destination.
In 2023, the first shipment of nuclear fuel landed in the country. However, due to the political instability in the south Asian country and the global situation, the progress slowed.
Although the uranium was scheduled to arrive from Russia on Thursday, the delivery timeline was delayed due to logistical complexities and the failure to secure permission to use Pakistani airspace.
Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has announced that the entire fuel supply for Rooppur would be delivered by December.
The combined generation capacity of the two units at the Rooppur plant is 2,400 megawatts. Electricity supply from Rooppur to the national grid is expected to commence by the end of the year, according to officials.
Located some 160 kilometers (99.4 miles) from Dhaka, the Rooppur project is being implemented with financial and technical assistance from Russia following a 2015 agreement signed with Russia.
The two-unit project entails a cost of approximately $12.65 billion with key loans from Russia.
