Museveni gives clearance for Russia and South Korea to build two nuclear stations in Uganda

FILE: Uganda Seeks Russia to Develop Nuclear Power Plant

KAMPALA - Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has given clearance to Russia and South Korea to construct two nuclear power stations that will generate 15,600 megawatts of power.

The head of state said one unit would generate 7,000MW while another would produce 8,400MW, but the timeline and the funding of the projects aren’t yet known. 

“We have agreed with Russia and South Korea to build two uranium power stations for electricity,” President Museveni said at a coffee summit held this week in Kampala. 

This is not the first time government officials have talked about the construction of a nuclear station in Uganda. 

In 2016, Russian-owned Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation officials visited Uganda and signed a deal with state authorities on the development of the nuclear station, but the project didn’t take off.

At the moment, the landlocked nation is struggling to find money to fund the development of hydro dams that are cheaper than nuclear power stations.

Uganda's current power generation capacity is 1402MW and only has a power for 800MW leaving the rest not consumed. The government plans to export power abroad.

President Museveni said Uganda has uranium deposits, a mineral used for the production of nuclear power, and several investors have approached him to mine them for export which he rejected. 

“A Western company proposed to mine uranium. I asked them, ‘Mine it and take it where?’ They said to export it. Did I ask to export it for what purpose? They told me, ‘We want to take uranium’,” President Museveni said.

He said he refused because Uganda still has power challenges and that if they wanted uranium, they should start by processing it here for power generation. 

He further said the company executives didn’t return. He also said he banned the export of raw materials because the country would lose money and jobs if the raw materials were processed abroad.

Recently, the president also banned the export of timbers on the same principles. He said only wooden furniture that has been made in Uganda would be exported. 

He also directed government agencies not to buy imported furniture when there are local manufacturers who make the same products. 

GAROWE ONLINE