Africa's huge new nuclear power station megaproject paid for by Putin
These plans come as a welcome transition for Burkina Faso, which is one of the world's least electrified countries.
The government of Burkina Faso in West Africa is reportedly in talks with a Russian company to expand their energy plants.
Russian company Rosatom visited Burkina Faso to continue discussions on the project to build a nuclear power station in the West African country last week.
Arriving on Tuesday, August 6, Rosatom representatives held discussions with Energy Ministry officials, according to local media.
Burkinabe energy minister, Yacouba Zabré Gouba, stated in the meetings: “We will be discussing much more technical aspects so that we can get rid of everything that needs to be done beforehand so that we can get on with the actual construction of this power plant.
"The nuclear power plant is essential for us because we believe that energy is a lever on which the country can acquire its real sovereignty in energy matters.”
According to Rosatom chief engineer Alexander Renev, there is no exact date for the completion of the project, but the team is doing "everything to deliver the plant as soon as possible”.
These plans come as a welcome transition for Burkina Faso, which is one of the world's least electrified countries.
In 2022, only 19.5 percent of the 20-million-strong population had access to electricity, according to the World Bank. The nation has a power generation capacity of 420 megawatts, and is dominated by fossil fuels.
Gouba added in a statement that the Burkinabe government was “pinning much hope” on Rosatom's visit, which will allow the country to deal with its “energy realities”.
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This is the latest of multiple projects that Russia is developing in Africa's Sahel region.
In 2023, a request by Sahel state interim leader Ibrahim Traore to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg also led to Rosatom signing a deal with the state to build a nuclear power plant.
In May this year, Novawind, Rostom's wind energy division, announced its plans to construct a 200 megawatt (MW) solar power plant near Bamako along with Mali's Energy Ministry. The facility is projected to cost $217 million (roughly £168.935 million) and increase the country’s electricity production by 10 percent, according to NovaWind director Grigory Nazarov.
