Nigeria’s determination to join countries generating electricity is gaining momentum as it open bids for the construction of nuclear power plants that would generate 4,000 megawatts of electricity for the country.
“Nigeria is trying to deliver 4,000MW of electricity through nuclear power. We are trying to construct four units and we are at the bidding stage,’’ Dr Yau Idris, Director General, Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), said at the Nigerian International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja.
“It is wrong to think that Nigeria can’t manage a nuclear power plant. There are mechanisms put in place that ensure any country can build a nuclear power plant,” he stated.
According to him, Nigeria had been trying to diversify its energy sources since 1977, stressing that the additional 4,000MW would increase the country’s generation capacity to about 13,000MW.
Idris said the regulatory agency has signed agreements with Russia, Pakistan, France and South Korea to build the capacity of its staff in manning the nuclear plants.
In Africa, only South Africa operates Nuclear power plant. The Koeberg Power Station is about 30km northeast of Cape Town and has two units of 900MW Capacity PWR reactors each.
Interestingly, interest in nuclear power generation is growing in Africa because it is considered as one of the sustainable sources of energy.
Apart from Nigeria, which is determined to construct nuclear power plant countries like Egypt, Ghana and Kenya have also taken giant steps towards establishing nuclear power plant.