Friday, March 29, 2024

Rosatom, Zambia agree to cooperate on nuclear energy development

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Zambia Ministry of Higher Education permanent secretary Owen Mugemezulu and Rusatom Overseas president Evgeny Pakermanov
Zambia Ministry of Higher Education permanent secretary Owen Mugemezulu and Rusatom Overseas president Evgeny Pakermanov

Rusatom Overseas, a division of Russian State-owned atomic corporation Rosatom has signed a project development agreement with Zambia, paving the way for a preliminary feasibility study into the proposed construction of a nuclear power plant.

The signing took place on Monday during the yearly international nuclear forum Atomexpo 2017.

Rosatom also signed several agreements with Zambian State departments to start construction on a Zambia Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology.

Rusatum Overseas and the Ministry of Higher Education signed a PDA for the construction of a Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology.

A contract for services of assessment and development of the nuclear infrastructure in Zambia, a contractor for preliminary engineering survey in Zambia by Rosatom’s affiliate Atomstroiexport and an agreement on setup of a nuclear science and technology center in Zambia were also signed also.

This contract provides for the assessment of various elements of the country’s potential nuclear infrastructure and drawing up of a plan for their development in accordance with the recommendations set out by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Rusatom Overseas President Evgeny Pakermanov said Rosatom was ready to render its full assistance to Zambia in the development of that country’s national nuclear science and technology sector.

“The agreements signed today represent a very important step in the implementation of the project,” he stated.

He added that Rosatom expected the general contract for the construction of the Centre for Nuclear Science and Technology to be agreed and signed before end of the year.

The ninth edition of the Atomexpo is currently being held in Moscow, Russia.

56 COMMENTS

  1. Do we really need to go nuclear when we have not even exhausted our hydro, solar, wind and coal options for our power supply? I think we shouldn’t be signing some of these agreements that adds little to nothing to a common man. I would be more encouraged to hear of opening of solar panel production plants here in zambia.

    • This is like saying why use a lift when you can stairs. Times have changed. Let us go that way and become exporters of power.

    • Only ignorant pfooIs who have never heard of Chernobyl think that Russians are masters at nuclear energy. In this case I urge Lungu to install his Russian nuclear power stations in PF strongholds of Eastern, Northern, Luapula and Muchinga Provinces. They need the effects!

    • Those monsters produce so much heat, they need Lot’s of water to cool down. With dicey patterns of rain, where do we get h2o to cool them down. Some will say they lose only 5% of the h2o in cooling, but how much water is that.

      If Germany & Japan are closing their nuclear power stations,maybe they know something?

      These Russians are failing to sale their technology in SA and countries with stronger oversight so they are coming to us with weak institutions.

      @1.4 for always going primitive tribal, suffer the Zambian, worse the Lozi and Tonga close to Kariba and Zambezi river where the easiest source of water is.

    • There is a brewery SAB owns in Tanzania that is reputed to be their most productive. Why? Because they built it recently with the latest technology. They chose not to start with 20th century brewing technology that apparently most of their plants around the world use.

      Moral of the story, why start with 1945 technology when there are new energy technologies which we can become leaders in if we apply our good minds and copper dollars to. No one can claim to be a leader yet in a lot of the emerging technologies, we can play in such spaces if we want to advance.

      I don’t want the mbaula these guys are buying.

      Russians are desperate to diversify their economy and will push this mbaula technology on poor Zambians. And with their big guns, they will continually meddle in and kill our…

    • …premature democracy to force us to stick to their terms. HH can forget ever being president of Zambia.

      This is a dangerous move on Lungus part.

  2. Do we have competent nuclear scientists, physicists and engineers to manage such a project should it take off? Looking at what has pertained over the past years I doubt the engineers we are producing today have the skills. Had such an initiative been launched during the Unip days I would have no issues but today generally speaking the quality of Zambian workmanship is not worth a slasher made in China because all these kids want to get rich fast and drive the latest toyota hilux while doing worthless jobs!

    • @vision, Engineers are there in Zambia and this agreement includes further training of people to manage such plants.

    • @2. THE QUESTIONS YOU GUYS WHO LIVE IN THOSE HIGH INDUSTRIALISED AND CIVILISED COUNTRIES REALLY AMAZE ME. IT IS SURPRISING ZAMBIANS IN ZAMBIA ASK VERY SENSIBLE QUESTION. MY BROTHER/SISTER, DID YOU EVEN READ THE ARTICLE OR IT IS JUST ENGLISH YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND? BECAUSE, THE ANSWER(S) FOR YOUR QUESTION(S) IS(ARE) IN THE ARTICLE. ZAMBIA NEEDS TO GET INTO NUCLEAR POWER TO ADEQUATELY PREPARE FOR IT FUTURE IN TERMS OF VERY ADVANCED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. NUCLEAR POWER LEADS TO MANY SCIENTIFIC, INDUSTRIALISATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES IN A GIVEN COUNTRY. AS A DEVELOPING COUNTRY ZAMBIA NEEDS THAT.

  3. Can there be a nuclear attack attack at attack at state house and contain it there

    • @3. MWILAFIMWENA LYONSE PAMA POLITICS YA HATE AND BITTERNESS. CONTRIBUTE ACCORDING TO THE TOPIC TO GIVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO OTHERS TO LEARN FROM YOU AND VICE VERSA. THERE ARE SOME WHO WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT NUCLEAR REACTORS. ARGUING ON A HATE AND BITTERNESS LINES WILL DEPRIVE THOSE IN NEED OF KNOWLEDGE.

  4. You are kidding, right? Nuclear power plants in Zambia, the country that can’t even feed itself. With such incompetence, bribery and corruption penetrating every fibre of society you are just asking for another Chernobyl disaster, perhaps worse. And if you are going to be doing anything nuclear. I wouldn’t be working with the Russians whose technology and safety processes are outdated. Try the Japanese but the point is we don’t have proper safety controls to manage nuclear power plants. We can’t control copper mining waste and you are talking nuclear. Oh dear! Talk about losing it and running out of progressive ideas.

    • Zambia cannot even look after Kariba dam without letting it crack! Now Lungu wants a nuclear power plant? That is a thousand times more complicated than a simple hydro system!!! That is TRULY VISIONLESS!!!!

      Let’s learn to walk before we try and put a man on the moon!

    • @ Dora

      Let the members of PF “intelligentsia” dream about “unprecedented development” and 21st century technology whilst having “candlelight dinner” with compliments of ZESCO followed by the trip to common pit-latrine.

      @ PETER
      1. Inform yourself about current development in 21st Century nuclear technology, related costs and shortcomings of the storage of nuclear waste;
      2. Can you for once be objective in your life without feeling urge to do arse l1cking?

    • No, we urge Lungu to empower his strongholds up north and east with these PF nuclear power stations.

  5. you talk of copper mining waste , that’s too complicated to handle! mention garbage management country wide, its a sickening sight, isnt it? rubbish we can see, touch and smell yet we cannot dispose of it in a proper manner. its better to develop without skipping a step. zambia cannot manage nuclear power.

  6. More money to waste on pointless projects, you have 365 days of sunshine and you are thinking of going nuclear…countries like Japan and in Europe have cut back on construction of these things.
    Meanwhile newly graduated nurses are going 6 months without pay!!

  7. This is not the first time to hear people talking about feasibility study on this subject. Anyway, whatever.

  8. There is need to understand nuclear technology. What is nuclear energy? What is nuclear war? What effects on the environment? What effects on animals and humans? Knowledge is power. The golden opportunity is here.

  9. Zambia is full of funny and stupid people. You have failed to manage waste in your own country and yet you think a nuclear plant is easy to manage. please leave that to people who are passionate about their countries.

    • @ Tembusha
      As much as ” The Boyz back in town ” has made very simple statement, your 1mbecility driven lack of understanding why, how and because of the pro and against of nuclear technology (never mind the cost). And yet, you are suggesting that he is “…just a grade 7 dropout…” !!!
      Are you by any chance “Doctor” like Lusambo or Kambwili or PhD laureate like Mushoto/a???

  10. Pa Zed sure, ubupuba bweka bweka. All our ministers are just yes men. Can we build you shopping malls? Yes. Can we help you develop a nuclear plant? Yes. When you cant even maintain the Kariba dam. Atase.

  11. Zambians are breathtakingly backward, who told you nuclear energy is modern? It has been there for decades and is dangerous, you will sorry.

  12. Welcome to zambia’s uranium . When we can’t repay them they will just settle for our uranium. Where are we going to store our waste uranium from the nuclear reactors.Nuclear reactors need water to cool them, global warming less water, we dont even get enough water to generate electricity.
    We grab at anything dangled in front of us, like a hungry fish, in the name of so called investment. We let china lend us money for roads airport. Now they have easy access throughout zambia for military. Sure new airport designs are upto military standard. China is running out of space for its pipo and food

  13. To you all dunderheads opposing this great step forward the country is undertaking, take note that nuclear energy is not the same as garbage you generate from filthy homes and blame government over its disposal. It has strict guidelines regulated by the nuclear and atomic agency. Remember nearly all developed countries are where they are today because they had constant power for their economies. Don’t oppose just for the sake of it like your brains are full of maggots.

    • UNEDUCATED 1MBECILE I do feel sorry for your children (if you have any) for having father who is intellectual WANKER

  14. i still work with friends whose family members were affected by Chernobyl disaster.; Zambians are being taken for a ride by this evil PF; just don’t built it in my province; let them build in Lungu’s village

  15. Useless citizens without knowledge are a serious danger to the country. Membership of the PF does not mean a guarantee of knowledge on what best technology is applicable to Zambia. Just because an agreement is signed by the Government does not mean that this technology id good for Zambia. Does it not surprise anyone that UNZA has not even been consulted on this, where they teach Physics? The fact that we have no Nuclear Physicists in Zambia MUST be a warning that we do not have expertise to dwell on such technology! We may as well be signing documents for installing a Space Laboratory in space! National leadership and its madness will never stop amazing me!

  16. Zambia will end up as a storage facility for spent nuclear waste from Russia. How many countries in Africa are pursuing nuclear energy besides South Africa? Zero! It is expensive and dangerous. Do Zambians know how nuclear energy generate electricity? Where are you going to get water? From well and bore holes? Jockers!

  17. This is just another avenue for PF to steal.

    Next you will hear borrowing for the same project

    You can’t even run a single line rail way or pick up your garbage in Lusaka.

  18. Why go nuclear when we plenty of free solar energy from God which Russia is not fortunate to have. The problem with our country is that SWOT analysis has not done extensively for the nation. I can upon the top leadership to take SWOT analysis as number one priority before committing this country to project which might not be beneficial in the long run.
    Just for starters: Let us rely more on hydro-power during period of less solar energy which naturally occur when the Dam have plenty of water and solar energy which naturally occur during dry spells. I expect the country invest into serious research on how solar energy can be converted to other forms of energy with easy and economical value. We have the brains to achieve this noble task, the biggest problem is misplacement of human…

  19. This is one reason why i and my whole family can never vote for upnd!!!this party is evil.as long as an idea is not from their “cuundu caitwa god-hh”,then its a bad one.WHAT KIND OF CREATURES ARE YOU PEOPLE IN UPND?ANYWAY,YOU’RE CURSED!!
    your Mutale Nalumango was live on radio phoenix this morning.she almost cried when questions started coming from Zambians questioning WHEN WILL UPND GET MATURED?note;many people hate the way upnd do politics!!BUT SINCE YOU DONT LISTEN,CONTINUE DESTROYING YOUR TONGA PARTY!!!
    JOB WELL DONE MIGHTY RUSSIA!!!PLEASE HELP IN DEVELOPING MOTHER ZAMBIA!!UPND FOLLOWERS CAN HUNG!!

    • You theif , nurses are not being paid and lungu is being bribed to drop a $1.4 billion ZCCM case and you want to waiste our time dreaming of nuclear energy ???

      You can’t even maintain UTH. or build your own toilets.

  20. I agree with pipo above who point out that Z is full of foolish & stupid pipo. It must b tiring to b a leader in this country bcoz pipo r so negative. How can such pipo progress honestly? What kind of country is this were fyonse in nyio nyio kwiyo kwiyo!!! Rain patterns ve changed, so whether we like it o not we ve to try other sources of power. Wind here, solar there, nuclear there, nafi hydro here. Chapwa. How dull is this country?

  21. I for one look forward to radiation poisoning. In all seriousness, Nuclear energy is fantastic and under normal circumstances I would be happy. However, Nuclear energy requires serious expertise and discipline. I don’t trust the system to put safety and skill above cronyism and cadres. This can lead to disastrous results.

  22. I was trained in Russia. Am a chemical engineer and so many other zambians others working overseas like myself. The issue of expertise is not fhe reason this project can fail to take off. The problem i have seen here is that people who are in the business world are the ones in the forefront discussing what they know nothing . Stick to your accounts knowledge and let expats digest this simple subject for you. This is not economics which is understood by everyone.

  23. THIS IS RIDICULOUS THEY GOT KICKED OUT OF SOUTH AFRICA BECAUSE OF CROOKED TENDERS AND NOW THEY ARE IN ZAMBIA !! HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL ARE GOING TO GET KICKBACKS FROM THIS DEAL !

  24. Seriously, I do not understand why take such direction. What is the purpose of all this/such direction? Zambia has been blessed with all that sunshine everyday. Zambia is supposed to be leading in sola energy technology. Sola energy is clean and noninvasive. Can someone help stop all this/such nuclear initiatives please….

  25. A cost benefit analysis, complete quantitative and Qualitative risk analysis is critical before any such endeavors are undertaken. Nuclear energy, while very effective has got significant risks such as storage of nuclear waste, availability of water to cool the nuclear reactors in a landlocked country, and other potential risks to Zambian people . The Russian track record for nuclear such as Chernobyl disaster and others reportedly covered up disasters should send a clear signal why Zambia should be very very very careful to trust Russia to Build anything nuclear. Japan, South Korea, France, USA have a far better track record. Zambia has not even taken off in other clean energy, talking about nuclear is rather ambitious if not naive;I THINK EVERY ZAMBIAN SHOULD HAVE A SAY ON THIS IDEA and…

  26. WORD OF ADVICE TO THE POWERS THAT BE:PLEASE ENSURE THAT THE DETAILS OF THIS DEAL/PROPOSAL IS THOROUGHLY SCRUTINISED BY PARLIAMENT.AM CERTAIN THAT YOU ARE AWARE OF THE ISSUES WITHREGARDS TO THIS AND SOUTH AFRICA.SOUTH KOREA IS SWITCHING OFF ITS NUCLEAR PLANT BY THE MONTH END-ASKING THEM WHY.THE ISSUE HERE IN SOUTH AFRICA IS SO INTENSE THAT IT IS COSTING THE RULING PARTY ITS ELOCTORATE.IT’S SHOCKING TO SEE ZAMBIA TAKING THE SAME ROUTE THAT’S BEING AVOIDED WORLD OVER-BEWARE OF RUSSIA-JUST A FRIENDLY WARNING.

  27. You dimwits! Nuclear energy is the way to go if you have to attain rapid industrialization into the 22nd Century. All these developed nations have recorded rapid development due to abundant energy from nuclear energy. German, USA, Britain Japan, China etc. have countless nuclear plants. Accident do happen but not good enough reasons not to take up technologies. It happened in Ukraine’s chinomobyles, but it also happened in Japan’s Fukushima.It almost happened in France. Russia has hundreds of nuclear power stations guaranteeing 100% supply reliability through the year. No load shading!! The Russians have belt such facilities in many latin American countries and taken part in such projects in France and German. Mind you Russians are part of world’s great pioneers in science and…

  28. Nuclear power plants need very high level of maintenance and intelligence and when I look at the attitude of us Zambians when it comes maintenance, nope nope, nope, we can not even maintain our roads. Japan is a typical case study of the dangers of power plants. What is wrong with solar energy? Imagine the government allows Zambians to put solar panels on their roofs and feed the national grid, that will be something. That is what I would call empowering the nation, the Zambians would sell the excess energy to ZESCO.

  29. Where does it need high level of knowledge batata? If you don’t have knowledge and understanding, don’t think everyone is like you. We will develop capacity to understand the mechanism which some of us already know. If you played truancy during grade twelve simple radioactivity lessons I cant blame you. Who told you you need kariba damn to cool the reactors? How does the motor vehicle radiators work? Think of it you scoundrels. Uranium enrichment is done once in a while and we can have it done somewhere else as it not an every day activity.90% is performance monitoring during power generations and recommend maintenance when required and you don’t need a nuclear physist or chemist to operate the plant but electrical technician or technologist plus shift engineer.

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