On March 7th, the Public Administration for the Electricity Generation by Using the Nuclear Energy at the Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation and Electricity a scientific workshop in Khartoum with experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for three days. The workshop aimed to establish the nineteen milestones of Sudanese infrastructure nuclear program.
Mr. Jaafar Khairallah, Director of the Technical Department at the General Directorate for Electricity Generation said this workshop comes in the framework of Sudan preparation to build the first nuclear power plant in the country. Sudan already carries out 10 projects with the help of the Arab Atomic Energy Agency.
He added that concerned ministries will participate together in the preparation of the required infrastructure to build the nuclear power plant, including control and legal framework, electrical network and shaping human resources.
Director Khairallah emphasized that IAEA visit comes in framework of cooperation between Sudan and the agency.
On his part, Anthony Stott, from the Nuclear Infrastructure Development Section at IAEA Division of Nuclear Power expressed his pleasure for the cooperation between Sudan and the IAEA in the field of nuclear energy. He assured the agency concern is to boost this cooperation and to help Sudan to complete the infrastructure program in order to implement the project in accordance with the safety guidelines of the IAEA.
Note: In December 2012, Sudan announced an agreement with China to build a research nuclear reactor, with the approval of the International Atomic Energy Agency. On May 24, 2016, Sudan and China signed the agreement to construct the Nuclear Power Plant. China is cooperating with the Sudan Atomic Energy Commission (SAEC) and the IAEA in order to build the nuclear power plant in 2020.
For the last twenty years, Sudan has been a strategic partner of China, which has invested more than $20 billion in in the oil sector, and plant to build new facilities and additional oil exportation ports on Red Sea. Beijing provides low-interest loans and weapons transfers in return for oil.
China is implementing 155 electricity projects (including power plants and dams) with Sudan at a cost of 10 billion dollars.
