By Frank Kamuntu
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni announced Tuesday that Russia and South Korea will soon start building nuclear power plants in the country.
Addressing the 2nd G-25 Africa Coffee Summit, which is being attended by leaders and delegates from 25 African coffee-producing nations at Speke Resort Hotel in Munyonyo in the capital Kampala, Museveni said negotiations with Russia and South Korea had already been completed.
“Russia and South Korea are going to build two nuclear power plants of 15,000 megawatts. The nuclear project comes at a critical time when nations are dealing with how to ensure energy security for socio-economic development,” he said.
Recently, Museveni said while addressing the nation that Uganda has abundant hydropower resources distributed in different parts of the country, but there is a need for more partnerships to explore the new technologies in the sector, hence the need to develop nuclear power. He also noted that the changing weather patterns meant that hydropower is no longer very reliable.
During the Russia-Africa summit last month in St. Petersburg, Uganda and Russia reportedly signed a deal on a nuclear power plant project.
Research carried out a few years ago by Uganda’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development confirmed that the country has the potential to start producing nuclear power after the discovery of large deposits of uranium in its eastern region.
In early March, Museveni said the country should start generating at least 1,000MW from nuclear power by 2031 as it moves to diversify its sources of electricity and accelerate its energy transition.
Uganda plans to export electricity generated by the NPPs to underserved countries in the region including the DR Congo, South Sudan and Chad.
Earlier this year, Minister for Energy Ruth Nankabirwa said while Uganda has a peak production capacity of 1,378MW, its peak consumption is 900MW. However, part of the problem is low connectivity, especially in rural areas.
A 2021 household survey by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics found that the national electricity access rate had reached 57%, comprising 19% and 38% on-grid and off-grid connections, respectively.
The low connectivity in Uganda and the region, in general, may offer justification for the planned 15,000MW nuclear generation. Despite huge hydropower potential, Museveni has said dams cannot be relied upon in the long term due to uncertainties around climate change.
Currently, South Africa has the only operational nuclear power plant on the continent while Russia’s state-owned energy corporation Rosatom last year started construction on Egypt’s first nuclear plant.
