Rooppur Power Plant: 1st shipment of uranium arrives from Russia

The first shipment of uranium reached the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Pabna yesterday.

International guidelines on safety were followed during shipment of the nuclear fuel and the project site is now globally recognised as nuclear infrastructure, said Shawkat Akbar, project director of the power plant.

"After ensuring infrastructure, trained workforce, and equipment required by the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], we got the licence for nuclear fuel import and storage," he added

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin are likely to virtually attend a fuel handover ceremony on October 5.

Earlier on Thursday, a Russian chartered plane carrying the shipment landed in Dhaka.

The nuclear fuel was then taken to the project site some 270km away in four lorries guarded by dozens of vehicles of the armed forces, police, and Rab.

Officials said Bangladesh Army maintained the safety protocol during the transportation.

To keep the road clear, regular traffic was restricted on the highway, causing long tailbacks that persisted until the afternoon in different southern and northern districts.