Uranium on its way to Rooppur amid tight security
The first batch of uranium is being transported to the Rooppur project site this morning under special security arrangements by the Bangladesh Army.
The first flight carrying the nuclear fuel arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka last night.
A special security unit of the Bangladesh Army, tasked with transporting the uranium, began moving the fuel in three special lorries towards the project site at around 7:00am today.
The more than 200-kilometre highway from Dhaka airport to the Rooppur project site has been turned into a “green passage” to facilitate the safe transportation of the nuclear fuel, police said.
“We have stopped vehicle movement in one lane to keep the highway free for the safe movement of the nuclear fuel,” said Md Amirul Islam, officer-in-charge of Jamuna Bridge West Zone Police Station.
The uranium-loaded convoy crossed the Jamuna Bridge at around 9:10am today, the OC said.
The special chartered cargo flight carrying the uranium from Russia landed at Dhaka airport at around 11:44pm last night.
“After unloading the nuclear fuel and completing necessary official formalities and security checks, the nuclear fuel was taken to the project site under special security arrangements by the Bangladesh Army,” a senior official of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant said.
The nuclear fuel will be stored at the project site, he said.
A total of nine flights will carry nuclear fuel for the additional requirements of Unit-1 and the commissioning of Unit-2, said Md Golam Mahabub, chief of administration of the power plant.
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