Sunday Southerner
says Russia to back 2,000 MW nuclear plant, deepen ties
Russia has agreed to work with Ghana on developing a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant following talks at the Russia-Africa Summit, Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said on Saturday.
The project is aimed at strengthening energy security and industrialization, Ablakwa said in a statement on X.
The announcement came a day after Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, said it was in talks with four African countries, including Ghana, on large nuclear power projects.
First held in 2019, the Russia-Africa Summit is part of a concerted push by Moscow to deepen economic ties with Africa through energy cooperation.
The two countries also agreed to deepen defense ties through a new pact covering assets for Ghana’s military.
Ablakwa said Russian President Vladimir Putin had barred the participation of Ghanaians in Russia’s war in Ukraine, including through irregular recruitment or voluntary enlistment.
Other commitments included support for Ghana’s agriculture sector, and increased scholarships for Ghanaian students in Russia.
Ghanaian media reported that Accra had initiated discussions with Russia’s State Nuclear Energy Corporation, Rosatom, for the establishment of the country’s first nuclear power station.
President Mahama told the summit that Ghana was pursuing a diversified energy mix to secure its power grid.
Meanwhile, Russian metals giant Rusal on Thursday signed a deal with Ghana to develop a bauxite mine with more than 100 million tonnes of deposits, as Moscow seeks closer ties with Africa.
Rusal, among the world’s largest aluminium producers, said it had inked a deal to launch joint ventures with the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) “on bauxite mining in Ghana of up to five million tonnes per year”.
“The mining project envisages the construction and operation of a bauxite mining enterprise at the Nyinahin deposit in the Ashanti Region in southwestern Ghana,” Rusal said in a statement.
According to Rusal, the estimated deposit slated for development exceeds 100 million tonnes of bauxite — the chief mineral used in aluminium production.
“The second phase of the project provides for the construction and operation of an alumina refinery with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tonnes, using bauxite from the Nyinahin deposit,” it added, referring to the base material for smelting aluminium.
“The projects will be implemented through two joint ventures — Nyinahin Bauxite and Ghana Alumina Company. Rusal will receive a majority stake in each of them,” the company said.
Besides bauxite, Ghana is a major exporter of gold, cocoa and oil.
Moscow has courted African countries since the Soviet era, and has long looked to the continent as a counterweight to what it sees as Western domination over international affairs.
It has hosted a Russia-Africa summit this week, held as Moscow grapples with heavy Western sanctions over its war in Ukraine.
Ghana earlier this month announced it would formally apply to join the BRICS — a group of emerging economies founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China and seeking greater influence in institutions dominated by Western powers.
Ghana’s Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa earlier said Russia “strongly supports Ghana’s application”.
