Government officials called potential bidders and only described the start of the process.
SUSPECT IN CRIMINAL ATTACK ON SOUTH AFRICAN PARLIAMENT DEEMED MENTALLY UNFIT IN TOA TRIAL
But the opposition Democratic Alliance’s complaint related to a first nuclear deal South Africa signed with Russia in 2014, worth an estimated $76 billion, was kept secret and was cancelled by a South African court in 2017 because it was illegal and unconstitutional. It was marred by allegations of large-scale corruption and was signed under the leadership of former South African President Jacob Zuma, who is lately on trial on unrelated corruption charges.
The Koeberg nuclear power plant on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam, File)
Plans for new nuclear power plants emerged a day after the South African government approved a deal with Russia’s Gazprombank to restart a liquid oil refinery on South Africa’s southern coast, which has been out of service since 2020. Gazprombank is one of the many nuclear power plants. Russian monetary establishments sanctioned through the United States.
The South African government said Gazprombank would “share the dangers and benefits of rehabilitating the refinery” once the main points of the deal, due in April, were finalized.
DEATH TOLL RISES TO THIRTEEN IN SOUTH AFRICA MINING DISASTER
South Africa currently has one nuclear plant, the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, around 31 miles north of Cape Town. It is the only one on the African continent.
Many African countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and Egypt, have nuclear force agreements with Russia or agreements to build nuclear power plants.
Many parts of Africa have an unreliable electricity supply, providing opportunities for Russia’s nuclear sector, but also giving it a chance to expand its political influence on the continent amid a collapse in its relations with the West following the war in Ukraine.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Zizamele Mbambo, deputy director general for nuclear energy at the South African government’s Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, said the bidding procedure for new power plants would be open and had been approved by the energy regulator. The stations would be completed by 2032 or 2033 at the earliest, he said.