Musings From Abroad

French, Russia, Chinese firms court Ghana amid plan for first nuclear power plant

Published

4 weeks ago

May 22, 2024

According to a representative of the energy ministry, Ghana will choose a contractor by December to construct its first nuclear power station from among competitors which include China National Nuclear Corporation, France’s EDF, and the United States NuScale Power and Regnum Technology Group.

Robert Sogbadji, the deputy director for power in charge of nuclear and alternative energy, Russia’s ROSATOM and South Korea’s Kepco and its subsidiary Korea Hydro Nuclear Power Corporation were also vying for the contract, which was scheduled to last for the next ten years.

“Cabinet will approve the final choice. It can be one vendor or two nations; it will depend on the financial model and the technical details,” Sogbadji told Reuters on Monday.

The government issued a call for vendors, and 16 countries and businesses replied, according to Sogbadji. However, a technical committee of state agencies headed by the Ministry of energy reduced the list to the current five countries.

In the 1960s, Ghana began exploring the construction of a nuclear power facility, but a coup halted the project. With help from the International Atomic Energy Association, it brought the plan back to life in 2006 after a catastrophic power outage.

Similar to other African nations, Ghana is progressively exploring the potential of nuclear power to bridge supply gaps on a continent where more than 600 million people live without access to energy.

Both Burkina Faso and Uganda have agreements in place with China and Russia to build their first nuclear power plants. As part of their energy mix, Namibia, Kenya, and Morocco are also aiming to include nuclear power.

Amidst acute power shortages, South Africa, which runs the only nuclear reactor on the continent, plans to add 2,500 megawatts (MW) of power from the resource. According to Sogbadji, Ghana wants to increase its electricity mix to include 1,000 megawatts of nuclear power by 2034.

Energy authority in the West African nation, which is now experiencing power shortages, has 5,454 MW of installed capacity, of which 4,483 MW is available.

Ghana, a country that exports gold, oil, and cocoa, anticipates using nuclear power as its foundation for faster and more comprehensive industrialization while expanding energy exports via the West Africa Power Pool to countries like Benin, Ivory Coast, and Togo.

According to Sogbadji, the government has already acquired a location big enough to house five reactors. It would be preferable, he continued, to “build, own, operate and transfer” with space for local equity holding.

Related Topics:China Featured France Ghana Russia

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Musings From Abroad

AfDB, IDB on $20bn IMF reserve asset donor drive

Published

22 hours ago

June 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In line with a global initiative to increase the efforts of leading multilateral development banks (MDBs) to address poverty and climate change, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Inter-American Development Banks (IDB) intend to convert each SDR into $4 in additional funding through the use of hybrid bonds and other financial instruments.

“All these countries have shown a lot of interest, and I think that with the approval from the IMF to use it (SDRs), it’s going to make that conversation a lot better,” AfDB President, Adesina said.

Japan has also pledged to help as a potential contributor of SDR, and in Europe, France has indicated interest in contributing some of its SDR for a simultaneous “liquidity guarantee” that would reimburse donors should they encounter difficulties.

“There are a lot of things that that bacon can feed – electricity, water sanitation, education,” Adesina stated, adding that he and Goldfajn have the remainder of the year to “bring the bacon home.”

The board of the AfDB separately approved a $117 billion capital increase earlier this month, and it is currently seeking an additional $25 billion for its concessional lending arm, the African Development Fund.

It aims to allocate a portion of the funds to projects like credit guarantees, which lower project financing costs by utilizing the bank’s triple-A credit rating as a halo.

It plans to use them similarly for debt-for-nature or climate swaps, which enable governments to reduce debt in exchange for safeguarding important ecosystems. Currently, Tanzania is employing them for railways linking Tanzania to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Nigeria.

The AfDB’s almost-final year in leadership, Adesina, stated that acknowledging the economic and global significance of Africa’s savannahs, rainforests, rivers, and seas is also necessary.

According to his estimation, their worth is at least $6.8 trillion, and the bank plans to adjust the GDP calculations for the continent to account for this amount. For instance, the Congo Basin is thought to be larger than the Amazon to be the world’s greatest carbon sink.

“In a world of climate change and green growth that ought to matter,” he added, saying that if “properly valued” countries like Congo and Gabon would have much better debt metrics.

Musings From Abroad

World Bank grants Nigeria’s request for a $2.25 billion loan

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by the World Bank on Thursday, Nigeria has been granted a $2.25 billion loan to help stabilize its economy after implementing reforms and increasing aid to the underprivileged.

Nigeria wants to borrow up to $2.25 billion from the World Bank, according to Finance Minister Wale Edun’s April announcement. The proposal is expected to be approved by the bank’s board in June.

The boldest reforms the nation has seen in decades were started by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in May of last year. He eliminated a popular but expensive fuel subsidy and twice devalued the currency substantially in an attempt to spur economic growth. However, the actions exacerbated a situation caused by rising costs of living and increased inflation.

The International Monetary Fund predicted that gasoline subsidies could account for as much as 3% of GDP this year due to the devaluation since rises in pump prices have not kept pace with their dollar cost.

Additionally, labour unions have been putting pressure on Tinubu to undo changes. According to the World Bank, it has authorized two loans totalling $750 million to speed up tax mobilization and $1.5 billion to support Nigeria’s reforms.

Nigeria has taken “initial critical steps to restore macroeconomic stability, boost revenues, and create the conditions to reignite growth and poverty reduction have been taken.” Nigeria has also started important reforms to address economic distortions and strengthen its fiscal outlook.

According to the World Bank, the loan will aid Nigeria in its efforts to increase non-oil revenue and foster fiscal sustainability, both of which will enable the West African country to provide high-quality public services.