Pakistan airspace denial delays Russian nuclear-fuel flight to Bangladesh
Pakistan denied airspace clearance to a Russian flight carrying nuclear fuel for Bangladesh’s Rooppur power plant, prompting Rosatom to reschedule the delivery through another route. Pakistan cited technical and procedural issues, while Rosatom said remaining shipments would arrive in October and the project timetable would not be affected.
A Russian flight carrying nuclear fuel for Bangladesh’s Rooppur nuclear power plant was denied permission to cross Pakistani airspace, delaying a shipment that had been scheduled to arrive on September 24. Bangladesh’s science and technology minister, Faqir Mahbub Anam, said Pakistan provided no reason for refusing clearance at the time. The planned route crossed Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and India before reaching Dhaka.
Bangladesh officials had completed preparations at the airport when Rosatom informed them that the permit had not been obtained. Pakistan’s High Commission in Dhaka later attributed the denial to technical and procedural issues. It said Pakistan valued its relations with Bangladesh and urged that the incident not be given undue significance.
Rosatom, the Russian state nuclear-energy company implementing the Rooppur project, has rescheduled the delivery through an alternative route. It said nuclear-fuel shipments would resume in October and that the remaining batches would arrive by December across seven cargo flights. Rosatom also said the project schedule would not be affected.
The episode comes as Bangladesh seeks to bring its first nuclear power plant into operation while facing a severe energy crisis. The Rooppur project has already experienced a two-year delay linked to the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Fuel loading began at Unit 1 in April, and final testing began in August.
The project is expected to supply about 300 megawatts to the national grid on a trial basis in October, with commercial generation expected in December, according to the supplied material. Bangladesh relies heavily on imported energy and has faced extended power cuts that have affected households, hospitals and factories. The Rooppur plant is intended to increase reliable electricity generation and reduce dependence on imports.
Bangladesh’s junior foreign affairs minister said an October meeting with Pakistan’s high commissioner did not discuss the airspace issue.
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