Argentine firm to build Uganda’s first nuclear power centre

KAMPALA, Uganda

Argentina’s INVAP-SE has signed a contract with Uganda’s ministry of Energy and Mineral Development to undertake studies that will guide the construction of a centre for nuclear science and technology in Soroti district.

The signing comes just over 17 months after INVAP-SE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Uganda’s government during the Nuclear Business Platform conference at Speke Resort Munyonyo. INVAP-SE has now embarked on the process of undertaking site evaluation at Soroti University, where 45 acres of land have been allocated, and come up with technical studies and designs for the centre for nuclear science and technology.

The centre will host Uganda’s first nuclear research reactor, which will be used for the purpose of education, training, production of radioisotopes and research in the nuclear industry, according to a press statement.

Irene Batebe, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, said the signing of the contract with INVAP-SE was “a direct contributor to the energy security of Uganda.” While speaking during the signing ceremony, she explained that Uganda intends to generate 52,000MW of electricity by 2040 – an ambitious amount that is not matched by the available in-country resources – with nuclear contributing 24,000MW of that amount.

Uganda currently generates about 1,300MW of electricity, although that amount is expected to shoot up when the 600MW Karuma hydropower project is commissioned at some point in the last quarter of this calendar year. Just over 50 per cent of Ugandans have access to electricity, many of whom live in the urban areas. The access rate in the rural areas drops to less than 20 per cent.

Uganda believes that nuclear energy can be the game changer for the country’s economy and drag down the price that consumers pay for electricity. Uganda plans to put up a 1,000MW large nuclear reactor – the first of two - by 2031. The government has already chosen a site for the reactor, a 30 square kilometer piece of land in Buyende district.

At the Nuclear Business Platform conference in Munyonyo last year, South Korea’s Hydro and Nuclear Power Company signed a memorandum of understanding with Uganda’s government for the development of a nuclear power plant. However, no contract to a vendor has been awarded yet. Vendors from Russia and China are still hopeful that Uganda will choose them for the construction of the reactors.

Uganda’s government is also in the process of amending the Atomic Energy Act of 2008 and introduce a new legislation that broadens the space for the operation of nuclear energy.

According to a press statement, INVAP-SE will ensure that Soroti University meets all the technical and safety requirements for the nuclear centre. This will be followed by the technical designs for the centre.

The project is expected to be funded by the government of Argentina, leading to more collaborations between the two countries, especially with regards to regulation. Uganda will face the challenge of regulating the ever-changing nuclear technologies, although some officials within the Ministry of Energy have argued before that they are not ready to take up any first-of-its-kind nuclear reactor.

They are looking for something that has been tried and tested, and has passed regulatory benchmarks. Batebe said Argentina has a stellar track record of putting up safe nuclear technologies, and the collaboration should guide Uganda on this unchartered territory.

Pablo Maximo Abbate, the Vice President of INVAP-SE, said the company is going to commit the best team available for the Soroti project.