Russia says it will build a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso
The agreement was signed with the military leadership of the African country
Burkina Faso's military leaders have signed an agreement with Russia to build a nuclear power plant.
Source. This was reported by the BBC.
The countries signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy within the framework of the Russian Energy Week.
The Burkina Faso authorities want to build a nuclear power plant by 2030. The country's current electricity needs are estimated at more than 500 MW, and in six years they could triple, said Burkina Faso's Energy Minister Simon-Pierre Boussim, speaking at the Russian Energy Week the day before.
"We are already developing cooperation with our partners from Russia. <...> Our goal is to double our electricity production by 2030, which will allow us to launch the industrialization of Africa," Boussim said.
The military ruler of Burkina Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traore, spoke about the need to build a nuclear power plant back in July at a meeting with Putin at the Russian-African summit.
"We have a critical need for energy, we need, if possible, to build a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso," Traore said at the summit.
Burkina Faso is one of the least electrified countries in the world, with only 21% of its residents connected to electricity. By 2030, the country plans to electrify 95% of urban areas and 50% of rural areas. According to the IEA, Burkina Faso gets most of its electricity from charcoal and wood. Oil products account for one third of the total energy supply.
In addition, Russia is building a $30 billion nuclear power plant in Egypt. The agreement was signed in 2017 by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Putin. Russia also signed an agreement to build power plants in Nigeria the same year, but work on the project has not yet begun.
Ibrahim Traoré came to power in Burkina Faso as a result of a military coup in September last year. The Cobra Special Forces group overthrew the interim president, Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damibou, who had been in office for 7 months. Cobra commander Traore took over as head of state.
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