Pakistan denies airspace clearance to Russian flight carrying uranium for Bangladesh’s Rooppur nuclear plant

Pakistan has denied airspace clearance to a Russian cargo flight carrying a uranium shipment bound for Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, disrupting the delivery that was scheduled to arrive on September 24. Bangladesh’s minister for science and technology, Faqir Mahbub Anam, confirmed the delay, saying the flight was not permitted to use Pakistani airspace because of “technical issues”.

“We heard that a cargo plane carrying uranium for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Bangladesh was scheduled to arrive on September 24. However, the flight was not given permission to use Pakistani airspace, so the uranium did not arrive in Bangladesh as planned,” Anam told news agency ANI.

He said a fresh date had been proposed for the shipment, with Russia suggesting that the uranium could arrive in Bangladesh during the first week of October.

Pakistan cites technical and procedural issues

The Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka issued a clarification on Tuesday, saying Islamabad follows established procedures while processing requests for diplomatic flights and overflight clearances.

“Pakistan 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.

Addressing reports about the Rooppur-bound flight, the High Commission said the issue 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 High Commission also stressed the importance it places on ties with Bangladesh and urged that the matter be viewed strictly from a technical perspective.

It said Pakistan “attaches high importance to its relations with Bangladesh” and called for avoiding “undue significance to reports or narratives that may seek to misplace it to undermine our bilateral relations.”

Uranium shipment was first batch for Rooppur Unit 2

The shipment that was delayed was the first batch of nuclear fuel intended for Unit 2 of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. Its delivery was postponed on September 24 after the flight did not receive the required airspace clearance.

An unnamed official told The Daily Star that the cargo flight had been scheduled to travel through four countries, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan and India, before reaching Bangladesh.

Representatives of Rosatom’s public relations agency told The Daily Star that deliveries of nuclear fuel for the second reactor 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 separately 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. Fuel deliveries for Unit 1 of the plant were completed in 2023.

Rooppur plant to have two VVER-1200 reactors

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is Bangladesh’s first nuclear power facility and is being built with support from Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom.

The facility is located on the banks of the Padma River in Pakshi Union, Ishwardi Upazila, in Pabna district. The project is being implemented under the oversight of the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, with technical assistance from Rosatom.

The plant comprises two third-generation VVER-1200 reactor units. Together, the reactors are expected to generate 2,400 megawatts of baseload electricity, ANI reported.

The nuclear fuel delivery for Unit 1 was completed in 2023, while fuel supplies for Unit 2 are now scheduled to begin in October and continue until December, according to Rosatom.