Uncertainty surrounds claims that electrical equipment imported for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant was damaged in Saturday’s fire at the cargo village complex of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
Officials from the Rooppur project, as well as the Russian contractor involved in its construction, said they were unaware of any such consignment, deepening the mystery.
The massive fire broke out at noon on Saturday at the airport’s cargo village complex, which houses warehouses for imported goods arriving by air.
It took nearly seven hours for the Fire Service, assisted by the army, navy, air force, and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), to bring the blaze under control. Numerous valuable consignments were destroyed, including, according to one clearing and forwarding (C&F) agency, electrical components reportedly imported from Russia for the Rooppur project.
An official from Momota Trading Company, a C&F firm, told reporters that about 18 tons of electrical equipment had arrived from Russia in seven shipments six days earlier. The official, Sarkar Biplob Hossain, said the goods could not be released because the company was awaiting a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. “The clearance was delayed, and unloading was scheduled for Sunday,” he added.
Repeated attempts by Just Energy News to reach Md. Kabir Hossain, Project Director of the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant project, for comment were unsuccessful. However, four other officials from different levels of the project said that most equipment for Rooppur is transported by river, while some components do arrive by air. They clarified that the responsibility for such materials lies with the Russian contractor until the goods are officially handed over at the project site.
ROSATOM local PR agency comments could not be obtained over the issue.
Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant is under construction at Rooppur in Ishwardi, Pabna, with financial and technical assistance from Russia. The project, implemented by the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission under the Ministry of Science and Technology, is estimated to cost around Tk 1.13 trillion. It aims to generate 2,400 MW of electricity from two 1,200 MW units, being built by Russia’s state-owned nuclear agency Rosatom.
After two deadline extensions, the first unit is now expected to begin power generation next year, followed by the second unit a year later, though progress reports indicate that both may face further delays.