First batch of uranium reaches Rooppur plant amid tight security

The first consignment of uranium, the nuclear fuel for Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, reached Pabna’s Rooppur on Friday afternoon under special security arrangement.

The vehicles, carrying the fresh uranium, started its journey for Pabna in the morning, sources said.

The consignment crossed the Bangabandhu Bridge area at around 10am on Friday, said Superintendent of Tangail Police Sarker Mohammad Kaiser.

Traffic on the Dhaka-Tangail-Bangabandhu Bridge highway remained suspended since early morning for security reasons, according to Tangail highway police.

Despite the inconvenience faced by regular commuters due to the traffic suspension, they did not endure any prolonged difficulties, as traffic swiftly resumed its normal flow following the passage of the convoy, said SP Kaiser.

The members of the security forces, including the police, were vigilant in ensuring the safety of the public, he added.

The first batch of fresh uranium, the nuclear fuel of the first unit of Rooppur nuclear power plant, has arrived at Dhaka airport yesterday in a special air cargo from Russia.

According to official sources said Director General of the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Aleksey Likhachev will hand over the fuel officially to the project authority in Rooppur project on October 5.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to virtually join the function.

The fuel was produced at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant (NCCP) in Russia, a subsidiary of Rosatom's fuel manufacturing company Tevel.

Rosatom as a Russian contractor has been engaged in building the 2400 MW Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) having two units, each capacity 1200 MW.

According to project officials, the government is expecting to commission the first unit of the RNPP in September next year and second unit in mid of 2025.