Uganda hosts Africa Nuclear Business Platform

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni inaugurated the Africa Nuclear Business Platform (AFNBP) conference in the capital Kampala on Wednesday.

“In 2005, Uganda descended into a power crisis following a prolonged drought that affected water levels at Owen Falls Dam. This resulted in a decline in hydropower generation output. Our planning changed since then. We resolved to diversify the national energy mix, which is now mainly based on hydroelectricity, to the introduction of nuclear power,” said Museveni.

“Uganda’s population is growing, and demand for energy is increasing. We believe that nuclear energy is pivotal in meeting energy demands and a key pillar in climate change mitigation,” he added.

Mikhail Chudakov, deputy director general and head of the Department of Nuclear Energy at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the agency supports member states that seek to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

He added that countries must include nuclear energy in discussions to achieve decarbonization and net zero goals.

Delegates from the US, Europe, Asia, Africa and South America are gathering in Kampala to discuss nuclear energy developments in Africa and explore areas of strategic collaboration to move African countries’ nuclear industries forward.

Seven sub-Saharan African countries including Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan, Rwanda, Kenya and Zambia have committed to having nuclear energy as part of their energy mix between 2030 to 2037.

All these countries have developed national positions on having nuclear energy and have engaged with IAEA to assist in their nuclear power programs.

Uganda recently hosted the IAEA’s Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review Mission to evaluate the status of nuclear infrastructure development in the country and announced last week that it would begin construction of the country’s first nuclear facility, for the peaceful use of atomic energy.

Currently in Africa, only South Africa has an active nuclear power plant, while Russia's state-owned energy corporation Rosatom commenced construction of Egypt's first nuclear facility last year.