MOSCOW: Russia’s state nuclear power corporation said Friday it was in advanced talks with four African countries to build floating nuclear power plants to assist them overcome power shortages. Talks were under way with Egypt, Namibia, Tanzania and Togo on the ambitious program, Rosatom state agency director general Alexey Likhachev said.
Several countries are working on floating nuclear reactor technology but Russia is the only country to have operated a facility in its remote Chukotka region. This was opened in 2020 and Russia thinks more might be opened to help remote regions like the Arctic.
A distinctive feature of a number of African economies is that some countries are overpaying for electricity, while not being in a strong financial position,” Likhachev told reporters after a Russia-Africa summit in Moscow. This is exactly the field in which we are now prepared to supply electricity with floating nuclear power plants,” he said. He added that 38 African countries had access to the sea and could use them.
He said nine Africa countries had shown interest and advanced talks had begun with the four. There also was a uranium extraction project in Nambia and a plan for a lithium mine with estimated reserves of more than 4,000 tonnes in Mali, Likhachev said. Russia has been trying to expand its economic and military footprint in Africa for several years, competing with Western nations and China for influence.
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