Bangladesh’s Rooppur nuclear plant uranium shipment delayed over Pakistan airspace block
Nuclear fuel for Unit 2 of Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, scheduled to arrive on September 24, did not arrive after the flight was not given permission to use Pakistani airspace, according to Bangladesh's Minister for Science and Technology, Faqir Mahbub Anam. The minister said the exact reason Pakistan did not grant the clearance is still unknown, and that Russia has indicated the first week of October as a proposed new date. Rosatom, which is building the plant with Russian support, had not responded to an emailed query from ANI.
Why it matters: The rescheduling of reactor fuel delivery places energy security and the transit permissions on which cross-border supply routes depend at the centre of the project's timeline.