Electricity: FG Approves $80bn Nuclear Plants' Construction

The power woes of Nigeria will soon be over as the federal government has responded to the suffering of the people by approving a nuclear plant deal.

 

The electricity power issue in Nigeria will be a thing of the past soon as the Federal Government has taken a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the construction of $80 billion nuclear plants to be constructed and operated by a Russia nuclear energy firm, Rosatom.

 

According to New Telegraph, a shared document between the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission and the Ministry of Power shows that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the sites and the completion of design for the plants has already been done. 

 

The document showed that an "agreement with Rosatom gave the company the right to veto the nation doing business with any other nuclear vendor,” the document stated.

 

The document further reveals that the Russian company “will hold a majority controlling stake in Nigeria’s nuclear facility, while the rest will be owned by the country, with roles to be specified in contracts.

The government will enter a powerpurchasing agreement for the nuclear plant.” 

 

It has also been revealed according to the document that the plants would be “financed by Rosatom, which will then build, own, operate and transfer them to the government.”

 

Nigerians should expect stable power supply as the four plants is to add 1,200 megawatts of capacity by the end of the decade. 

 

The first plant is planned to be constructed in Kogi State.

 

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had earlier said that Nigeria had secured the necessary certification from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

 

“We have gone through the training level; we have produced 25 graduates of master’s level under certification by the IAEA,” he said. “We have found the sites; the sites have been approved. We have started the design for the financing.

“That is the stage we are now; once we conclude that, we move to the design for the construction. If all things go well, by quarter four of next year – that is the schedule that I met – we should have started construction.”

 

Three other nuclear plants are being planned,which would take total capacity to 4,800 megawatts by 2035, with each facility costing $20 billion. The first Nigerian plant will be operational in 2025.