The CEO and Secretary of Uganda’s Atomic Energy Council (AEC), Noah Deogratias Luwalira, said on 21 May that media reports indicating that Mpoma in Mukono District had been chosen as the site of Uganda’s first NPP. Uganda has not selected a site for the proposed plant, he stressed, adding that the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development has not yet identified a site.
Earlier in May, Aline des Cloizeaux, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director for Africa, handed over the final report to Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni of an IAEA Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) eight-day mission conducted in December to review Uganda’s infrastructure development for a nuclear programme. She said Uganda is ready for the plant. The following day, Bloomberg reported that Uganda had acquired land for construction of the NPP without identifying the site. However Ugandan press reports pointed to Mpoma, prompting local protests
Addressing the media during a national sensitisation workshop on regulation of energy applications in Uganda, Luwalira said “The ministry is still evaluating possible sites for the proposed nuclear power plant location and Mukono District is not among them. The candidate districts so far are Nakasongola and Buyende,” added that the ministry is still conducting pre-feasibility studies. He said it would be a protracted process, with construction of a plant taking 10-15 years if all preparations go well, but longer if something goes wrong.
Robert Kilyowa, an energy officer specialising in nuclear, fuel and energy waste at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, said Uganda has completed pre-feasibility studies on nuclear power programmes. The next phase will focus on building specialised nuclear institutions and preparatory works.
