MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th October, 2018) Zambia and Russia will most likely sign an agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant in the African state during the 11th ATOMEXPO international forum, due to be organized by Russia's Rosatom state corporation next April, Shadreck Luwita, Zambia's ambassador to Russia, told Sputnik.
The ATOMEXPO international forum is a major event in the world's nuclear field, which has been held on an annual basis since 2009. The forum provides an occasion for the discussion of the current state of the nuclear field and sets the trends for the nuclear sphere further development. The ATOMEXPO-2019 is expected to be held in April.
"[The agreement] is something in the very, very near future. The first thing is to commence the construction of the center for nuclear science and technology ... Most likely ... these agreements are signed when Rosatom is hosting the [ATOMEXPO] international nuclear forum ... We are most likely to see the signing of the agreement for the construction of a nuclear power plant [at the next forum]," Luwita said following the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Investment Forum in Moscow.
According to the ambassador, the implementation of the project to construct a nuclear research reactor and a center for nuclear science on the reactor's base, valued at over $100 million, will pave the way for the document's signing.
"First of all, you start with the reactor, on whose basis you are able to develop capacity and have the necessary trained manpower, which can be able to implement a nuclear power plant," Luwita stated.
Luwita added that the construction of the nuclear science and technology center should remain on track.
"All things being equal, I think everything will be on course. They should be able to meet the time frames, which have been set up," Luwita believed.
In February 2017, Russia and Zambia signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in building of a nuclear science and technology center on the Zambian territory. The agreement provides for the center's construction based on a multipurpose nuclear research water-cooled reactor with a capacity of 10MW. The center is expected to include a laboratory complex, multipurpose irradiation center and a cyclotron-based nuclear medicine center.
