Update

Uranium shipment reaches Rooppur under tight security

Fuel transported from Dhaka airport to plant site under army security

Updated : 3 October 2026, 13:26

Our Correspondent, Pabna

Videograb

Under special security arrangements by the Bangladesh Army, a shipment of nuclear fuel safely reached the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant site this noon.

The cargo flight carrying the nuclear fuel -- the second shipment of its kind to arrive in Bangladesh -- landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka last night.

“The lorries loaded with nuclear fuel safely reached the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant site at around 12:30pm,” confirmed Md Ruhul Kuddus, in-charge of the Rooppur site office, speaking to The Daily Star.

He added that the convoy, escorted by the Bangladesh Army under special security measures, departed the airport for the project site around 7:00am.

The special chartered cargo flight carrying the uranium from Russia landed at Dhaka airport at approximately 11:44pm on Friday.

“After unloading the nuclear fuel, completing necessary official formalities, and clearing security checks, the fuel was transported to the project site under heavy security,” said a senior official from the Rooppur plant. He noted that the fuel would be stored at the site in accordance with international guidelines.

Foolproof security measures were implemented along the entire highway stretch from Dhaka airport to the Rooppur project site to ensure safe passage.

“We halted regular vehicle traffic while the convoy moved along the highway, leaving a dedicated lane clear for its smooth transit,” said Md Amirul Islam, officer-in-charge of Jamuna Bridge West Zone Police Station. He added that all local police stations and highway patrol units along the route were placed on high alert to secure the movement.

The fuel convoy crossed the Jamuna Bridge at around 9:10am, Islam added.

A total of nine flights will carry nuclear fuel to meet the additional requirements for Unit 1 and for the commissioning of Unit 2, according to Md Golam Mahabub, chief of administration at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant. He noted that with this first flight delivered, the remaining shipments are scheduled to follow.

“We expect to receive the entire fuel supply by December this year,” he said.

This is the second time nuclear fuel has reached Bangladesh. In September 2023, Bangladesh received nuclear fuel for the first time for Unit 1.

Unit 1 is nearing the final stage before reaching criticality. Fuel loading for Unit 1 began on April 28 and was completed on May 12. Following initial tests, the commissioning process was temporarily paused due to an issue with the safety relief valves. The issue was resolved on September 30 after the successful completion of a 16 MPa high-pressure test on its pressure-operated relief valve system.