First batch of nuclear fuel for Rooppur plant reaches Bangladesh

First batch of nuclear fuel for Rooppur nuclear power plant reached Bangladesh on a Russian aircraft today.

After unloading, the fuel will be carried to the project site under special security arrangement following international guidelines. The radioactive fuel will then be stored at the project site, sources in the power plant told our Pabna correspondent.

The handover ceremony is likely to be held on October 5. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin are likely to join the ceremony virtually, project sources said, adding that the director general of International Atomic Energy Agency is likely to attend the ceremony, project officials said.

A Russian chartered plane, carrying the nuclear fuel for Unit-1 in Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, reached Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport around 1:30pm.

Group Captain Kamrul Islam, executive director of the airport, told The Daily Star that the Russian aircraft landed at the airport with the nuclear fuel.

The fuel will be carried to the project site at Rooppur in Pabna's Ishwardi upazila through a special security arrangement, said a senior official of the Rooppur project, seeking anonymity.

"The nuclear fuel will be carried to the project site, approximately 270km away from the airport, on special vehicles under strict security procedures," the official said.

Bangladesh Army will lead the security protocol for transporting the radioactive fuel, the official said.

The fuel will be carried in special vehicles escorted by vehicles of the armed forces, fire brigade, health service personnel, and other necessary security arrangements will be in place, sources said.

The Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant is being built at Ishwardi in Pabna for $12.65 billion. The two units of the plant have a capacity to produce 2,400 MW of electricity. Unit-1 is likely to be commissioned next year.