Another consignment of nuclear fuel from Russia arrived safely at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant in Pabna on Friday morning, utilizing an alternative transit route over the Padma Bridge for the first time.
Under heavy military escort and tight security from various law enforcement agencies with three specialized lorries carrying the uranium reached the project site at 7:30 AM.
Departing from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, the heavy convoy traveled via the Dhaka-Mawa Expressway, crossing the Padma Bridge, Bhanga, Rajbari, Kushtia and the Lalon Shah Bridge at Paksey.
Convoys traditionally used the Dhaka-Tangail Highway and Bangabandhu Bridge. However, project site in-charge K. B. M. Ruhul Quddus confirmed that authorities selected the alternative route for security reasons to avoid potential disruptions caused by ongoing garment worker protests in Gazipur.
This marks the fifth uranium delivery to the site, supplying one additional shipment for the first unit and four for the second unit.
Project officials confirmed that the ‘Power Start-up Stage-C’ testing phase is already underway for Unit 1. If trial operations progress as scheduled, the plant aims to supply approximately 300 megawatts of electricity to the national grid by late November or early December.
