A special Russian cargo aircraft carrying uranium fuel for Bangladesh’s Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on the night of 2 October. The shipment was originally scheduled to arrive on 24 September, but delivery was delayed after Pakistan denied airspace clearance for the Russian aircraft.
The planned flight path had included Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and India before arriving in Dhaka. Islamabad described the refusal as a “technical and procedural” issue involving flight routing permissions. Following the incident, Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, successfully rerouted the delivery.
The exact details of the final route taken by the Russian cargo plane have not been publicly disclosed by Rosatom, due to security and safety protocols. However, security and aviation experts note that avoiding Pakistan while flying from Russia/Central Asia to Bangladesh typically requires a detour further west or east. This is likely to be through Chinese airspace or using a wider maritime/aerial arc via India and the Arabian Sea/Bay of Bengal to approach Dhaka safely from the south.
Following its late-night landing and unloading at Dhaka, the fuel was prepared for transport to the project site in Ishwardi, Pabna (around 160 kilometres from the capital). The Bangladesh Army and Highway Police instituted tight security arrangements to ensure a smooth transition. According to local authorities, a dedicated highway lane was kept completely clear for the safe movement of the convoy.
This shipment was the first delivery for the initial core of unit 2 at the Rooppur plant. A total of nine flights are scheduled to deliver more than 200 assembled fuel elements by December 2026. Rosatom stated that all remaining consignments will continue through the newly arranged alternative route.
According to Md Golam Mahabub, the plant’s chief of administration, seven shipments are designated specifically for the core and commissioning of unit 2 (including 163 primary assemblies). Two shipments are designated for the future refuelling of unit 1, which requires cyclical partial replacements after its initial 18 months of operation.
The Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka said in a clarification: “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.”
It added: “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. Pakistan attaches high importance to its relations with Bangladesh, and it would therefore be appropriate to view the matter in its proper technical context and not attach undue significance to reports or narratives that may seek to misplace it to undermine our bilateral relations.”
