afrol News, 20 March - Nigeria’s Federal government has signed an energy accord with a Russian company, Rosatom Corp, to work on mining uranium, building and testing atomic power plants and sharing knowledge.

The memorandum of understanding signed in Moscow would pave the way for a bilateral cooperation on the development of nuclear energy infrastructure, including on nuclear power plants and research reactors in Nigeria.

Russia would also assist Nigeria in the field of nuclear research and in the production and use of radioisotopes.

The memorandum also covers the joint prospecting and development of uranium deposits in Nigeria. Following the signing of the memorandum, the two countries will now draft a full intergovernmental cooperation agreement, according to local reports.

To address rapidly increasing base-load electricity demand, Nigeria has sought the support of the International Atomic Energy Agency to develop plans for up to 4000 MW of nuclear capacity by 2025.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and its power demand is expected to reach 10,000 MW by end of the year. The current grid-supplied capacity is 2600 MW.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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