Rooppur nuclear fuel shipment rescheduled after airspace clearance delay

The Russian nuclear-fuel shipment for Unit 2 of Bangladesh's Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant has been rescheduled for October following an airspace-clearance delay. Officials from Bangladesh's Ministry of Science and Technology and Atomic Energy Commission said the first batch had been due on September 24 but was postponed because airspace clearance was unavailable. ANI quoted Science and Technology Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam as saying Pakistan had not granted overflight permission. The Pakistan High Commission in Dhaka neither directly confirmed nor denied that account, saying the reports appeared to concern technical and procedural arrangements involving flight routing and airspace permissions. Bangladeshi officials said the airspace issue has now been resolved and shipments will begin on October 1. Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom said deliveries for Unit 2 are scheduled to begin in October and be completed by the end of December.