Rooppur fuel delivery to reach in Oct
A uranium fuel shipment for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has been delayed after Pakistan did not grant permission for the flight carrying it to use its airspace.
The shipment was scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on Sept 24 to refuel the plant’s first unit.
Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam said on Monday, “Pakistan did not provide the clearance. The route involves several countries — Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and then India, reports bdnews24.com.
“Since clearance from Pakistan was given previously, they will grant it again. Perhaps there was a gap or oversight, and they didn’t issue it. It will come through.”
“They have rescheduled it and informed me that [Russia’s state nuclear agency, Rosatom] will bring it during the first week of October. In the meantime, they will carry out their necessary work.”
The minister said it was Rosatom’s responsibility to deliver the uranium and that minor delays could occur.
Earlier, he told Indian news agency ANI that the exact reason Pakistan had not granted the airspace clearance was unknown.
Kabir Hossain, director of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant construction project, said: “The fuel for Unit 1 will need to be replaced after one year. That refers to the reload scheduled a year later. For that, 48 fuel assemblies were to arrive on two flights, one scheduled for [Sept 24] and another for Oct 1.”
The initial fuel load for Unit 2 was scheduled to arrive on seven weekly flights starting Oct 8, he said.
Kabir said Rosatom informed them around 9pm on Sept 23 that the flight had been postponed because it had not secured clearance from all countries on the route.
Under the revised schedule, the flights will begin on Oct 1, pushing the timeline back by a week, Kobir said.
The delay came as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider paid a courtesy call on State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir on Monday.
About the airspace issue, Humaiun said it was not discussed in the meeting, describing it as his first courtesy meeting with the high commissioner.
He also urged everyone to “not get worried” about obtaining permission to use Pakistan’s airspace.
