A Russian cargo flight carrying nuclear fuel for Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant was delayed after failing to secure Pakistani airspace clearance. Bangladeshi and Russian officials have rescheduled the delivery for October, while Pakistan attributed the disruption to technical procedures.
A transport carrying nuclear fuel destined for Bangladesh’s first nuclear power facility stalled unexpectedly when the aircraft was denied permission to cross Pakistani airspace. The shipment, originally scheduled to arrive on September 24, was intended to supply fuel assemblies for the facility.
Bangladesh’s Minister of Science and Technology, Fakir Mahbub Anam, confirmed the disruption to news agencies after airport authorities had already completed ground preparations to receive the sensitive cargo. The planned transit route was expected to span multiple countries, including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and India, before entering Bangladeshi airspace. The nuclear facility itself is situated along the banks of the Padma River in Pakshi Union, Ishwardi Upazila, Pabna District, approximately 160 kilometers from Dhaka. Construction at the site is managed by the Russian Federation’s State Atomic Energy Corporation, Rosatom, which has overseen the project since 2017, while the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission oversees the national nuclear program.
Pakistan High Commission Cites Technical Routing and Civil Aviation Protocols
Islamabad addressed the airspace denial through an official clarification issued by the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka. The diplomatic mission stated that the matter involved technical and procedural arrangements concerning flight routing and clearance schedules rather than any political maneuvering. Responding to the situation, the Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka conveyed that Islamabad remains firmly devoted to international diplomatic practices, handling every application for diplomatic flight and overflight permissions within a standard, predictable timeline and strictly following established regulatory frameworks.
Although Bangladeshi officials had completed preparations to receive the shipment at Dhaka airport, they were informed that the flight could not proceed due to the missing clearance. The high commission noted that coordination between relevant aviation authorities can occasionally require schedule adjustments, while Pakistani officials termed the matter a technical and procedural issue involving flight routing and airspace permissions.
Rosatom Reschedules Fuel Deliveries via Alternative Aviation Corridors
Russia’s state-owned nuclear corporation, Rosatom, moved swiftly to restructure transport logistics following the setback. Representatives from Rosatom’s public relations agency indicated that shipments would resume through an alternative route starting in October.
Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Construction and Energy Grid Pressures
Prolonged blackouts affecting both urban and rural regions, where outages have been reported to last between 10 to 16 hours a day, have driven electricity deficits beyond 3,500 megawatts. This gap between supply and demand caused electricity shortages to surge multiple times in September, proving worse than the 2022 crisis caused by the Ukraine war, which recorded a shortage of 2,000 megawatts. The logistical delay unfolded against this backdrop of severe domestic energy shortages in Bangladesh.
The Rooppur project is the result of a 2011 agreement with Russia and carries an estimated cost of US$ 12.65 billion. Disruptions stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the Russia-Ukraine war have pushed the construction schedule back by two years. Comprising two third-generation VVER-1200 reactor units, the facility will produce a combined total of 2,400 megawatts of baseload electricity. The initial fuel load for Unit 2 involves 163 fuel assemblies originally expected through seven weekly flights beginning in October, while the September shipment was connected to the planned reload requirement for Unit 1 involving 48 fuel assemblies. Russia delivered 164 fresh fuel assemblies in 2023 to complete the primary fuel shipment for Unit 1, with the initial reactor commencing fuel loading in April 2026. If these targets are fully realised, Bangladesh will officially become the 33rd country in the world capable of producing nuclear power.