Rwanda is preparing to invest between $5 billion and $6 billion in nuclear power as part of a long-term strategy to secure reliable electricity and support its ambition of becoming a high-income economy by 2050, President Paul Kagame said at the Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris, as reported by Xinhua.
The planned investment will focus on developing small modular reactors (SMRs), a nuclear technology designed for smaller electricity grids and lower upfront costs. Officials say the reactors would provide stable baseload power needed for industrialisation, including manufacturing, data centres and mineral processing.
KT Press noted that abundant and reliable electricity is essential for Rwanda’s long-term development goals, explaining that nuclear power will diversify the country’s energy mix while supporting economic transformation under the Vision 2050 strategy.
The government has already begun building capacity for the sector by training hundreds of specialists in nuclear science and engineering and plans to develop a workforce of around 230 professionals by 2028 to regulate and operate future nuclear facilities. The program is also expected to help Rwanda expand electricity generation toward 5 gigawatts by 2050, significantly strengthening the country’s energy security and industrial base.
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