According to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Rosatom Central and Southern Africa, Dmitry Shornikov, Nigeria and Russia agreements on cooperation in the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) and the Multipurpose Research Reactor Complex (MRRC) will create an economic advantage for Nigeria beyond electricity production.
Mr. Shornikov said this in a speech he delivered at the recent 15th edition of the Future Energy Nigeria Conference and Expo in Lagos recently. He highlighted and defended the benefits of nuclear energy to Nigeria, adding that peaceful use of atomic power to develop Nigeria would serve the country well.
Nigeria’s existing nuclear technology agreement with Russia will not just enable the former to generate more electricity for the domestic economy, but also help improve healthcare, science, industry and agriculture sectors.
The project on construction of the MRRC will ensure wide application of nuclear and radiation technologies in healthcare, science, industry and agriculture in Nigeria.
The MRRC aims to bring new technological industry platforms and national industry development, to improve regional investment climates and agricultural export growth.
Access to stable and affordable electricity is one of the biggest challenges to Nigeria’s industrial revolution and sustainable economic growth. Electricity is the first business obstacle for over half of large firms in Nigeria: 70% of large firms on the average experience 44 electrical outages per month in Nigeria for an average 11 hours, and which often resulted to lose of 25% of their annual revenue.
A World Bank study had shown that outages reduce direct exports of African firms by six to 12%. The outages make it difficult for African nations like Nigeria to implement its strategic industrialization goals, this against a background of growing urbanization as well as demands for employment and modern infrastructure.
