Rosatom Delegation in Burkina Faso to Move Forward Nuclear Power Project

Following a request made by Burkina Faso’s President Ibrahim Traore to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Russia-Africa Summit 2023 (#RAS2023), a agreement was signed for Rosatom to construct a nuclear power plan in October 2023. To move the project forward, a delegation from Rosatom led by Chief Engineer Alexander Renev arrived in Ouagadougou on 7 August 2024 on a four-day mission.

Less than one in five people in Burkina Faso have access to the electricity grid. The country has a population of 20 million and a power generation capacity of 420 MW.

During its visit in Burkina Faso, Rosatom had several sessions with the Burkinabe Ministry of Energy. In addition to meeting the Ministry Yacouba Gouba, Rosatom also had several working sessions with the technicians of the Ministry.

Earlier in March 2024, the two sides agreed and signed off on a nuclear energy roadmap for Burkina Faso. The Government of Burkina Faso is counting on the nuclear power plant to accelerate its electrification process and targets to double generation capacity by 2030.

“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.”

Burkina Faso Minister of Energy Yacouba Gouba

Details of the agreement are scanty and hard to get by. However, the general template is for Rosatom to undertake the project on a #FDBOT basis, which includes finance, design, build and operation for a certain number of years.

Some West African countries plan to add nuclear energy in their energy mix. Actually, Nigeria signed a similar agreement with Rosastom as early as 2016 but the project has yet to materialize. Ghana, Niger, Uganda, Egypt, to name a few African countries, are also contemplating nuclear energy as part of their generation strategy. To date, South Africa is home to the sole operational Koeberg nuclear power station in all of Africa.