Nigeria, May 31, 2016 – The Nigerian government has given its approval for the construction of four nuclear power plants that would inject additional 4,800 megawatts into the national grid in the next 19 years.
The plants are to be constructed at a cost of $80 billion and to be financed by ROSATOM a Russian nuclear energy firm on Built Operate and Transfer (BOT) scheme.
According to a document obtained by New Telegraph newspaper, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been done on the approved sites while designs have also been completed.
The project will however be in phases. The first phase according to the newspaper will add just 1, 200 to the national grid.
According to the document, the Russian firm will hold majority stake in the project, while the rest will be owned by the Nigerian government and that the deal also bars the Nigerian government from entering into a similar deal with any other firm.
The newspaper also reported that the plants will be cited in Akwa Ibom and Kogi state. The first plant will come on in 2025 and by 2035 the four plants will be on and bring the total generation of the power plants to 4,800 megawatts.
ROSATOM has 70 years expertise in the nuclear field. “We are a global leader in technologies and competencies offering cutting-edge industry solutions. We work on a global scale to provide comprehensive nuclear services that range from uranium enrichment to nuclear waste treatment”, it said on its website adding that it is remains number 1 globally in number of nuclear reactors under simultaneous construction (7 in Russia and 34 abroad), number 2 globally in uranium reserves and No.3 globally in annual uranium extraction.
It prides itself as number 2 globally and No. 1 in Russia in terms of nuclear power generation (about 18% of total power generated in Russia), 36% of the global uranium enrichment market , 17% of the global nuclear fuel market and the world’s only nuclear icebreaker flee.
