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Nene: Nuclear build a ‘substantial commitment’

Cape Town - South Africa’s proposed nuclear build programme would be “a substantial commitment”, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has acknowledged.

In reply to a parliamentary question by DA MP Sej Motau, who asked how the 9 600 megawatt proposed nuclear build programme would be financed, Nene said: “The 9 600 MW proposed nuclear build programme would be a substantial financial commitment.”

“Government is undertaking a careful and thorough analysis of financing options to ensure the affordability and long-term sustainability of the fiscus and financial soundness of a state-owned entity like Eskom.”

It is envisaged by cabinet that Eskom would be responsible for the nuclear build programme. It is already responsible for the Koeberg nuclear plant, north of Cape Town.

DA energy spokesperson Gordon Mackay said National Treasury had on Thursday revealed - in the answer to Motau's question - that there was “no plan” on how it would finance the “trillion rand deal signed by Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson last year”.

The DA was referring to an agreement signed with Russian nuclear company Rosatom, which it believes locks South Africa into a deal with Russia. However, the South African government has said it will not do so.

At a recent briefing by the economic cluster, Deputy Energy Minister Thembisile Majola said South Africa had held “a number of vendor parades” with various potential providers including Canada, the United States, South Korea, Japan “and so on”.

She did not mention Russia where Rosatom has apparently locked South Africa in a severely restricted deal, which would give Russia the right to veto South Africa from procuring technologies from other countries or suppliers.

Last October acting energy director general Wolsey Barnard said the Russian nuclear agreement was merely part of a window shopping exercise to see what technologies were best from a variety of countries and no nuclear-related purchases had been made.

Mackay said estimates suggested the nuclear build programme costs would range from R320bn to R1.4trn - excluding likely cost overruns.

While South Africans are currently suffering the effects of a preventable crisis caused by poor policy decisions over the last 17 years, he said, the ANC government is committing to “unaffordable solutions that will only bear fruit in the next 12 years”.

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