Three-lorry convoy en route to Ishwardi under multi-tier security cordon
Army Escorts Rooppur Uranium Convoy from Dhaka Airport
- Uranium fuel for Rooppur NPP Unit-1 departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 7:15 AM on Saturday
- Three specialized lorries escorted under strict Bangladesh Army cordon alongside SRB and intelligence units
- Consignment landed from Russia on Friday night; nine subsequent flights scheduled across Nov-Dec for 211 assemblies
Moving under heavy security and specialized military escort, the road convoy transporting a fresh consignment of nuclear uranium fuel for the first unit of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) departed Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport for the project site in Ishwardi, Pabna. The radioactive cargo is being transported via three specialized transport lorries.
The high-security motorcade commenced its transit from the airport at approximately 7:15 AM on Saturday, 3 October 2026. The entire perimeter and convoy movement are being spearheaded by the Bangladesh Army, reinforced by the Special Response Battalion (SRB), highway and metropolitan police units, and national intelligence agencies to enforce zero-breach road safety protocols along the designated corridor.
The development follows the safe landing of the specialized Russian cargo flight at Dhaka airport on Friday night, 2 October, at approximately 11:30 PM, transiting via Indian airspace. Upon arrival, officials from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (BAERA) formally received the consignments and oversaw overnight logistics to prep the assemblies for specialized overland transport.
According to approved procurement schedules, an additional nine chartered flights are slated to deliver supplementary fuel batches between November and December. Across these shipments, 48 assemblies will be allocated for Unit-1, with 163 assemblies bound for the second unit. The flight trajectory spans from Russia across airspace corridors over Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India before entering Bangladesh.
The foundational nuclear fuel for Rooppur's first unit arrived in 2023 and was successfully loaded into the nuclear reactor core in May this year. Technical teams are currently concluding final stress verifications on the automatic depressurization valves, marking the final regulatory threshold before the pioneering nuclear facility commences phase-wise power synchronization with the national grid.
//DBTech/SMP/MVNO/BPC//
