Nuclear contract: Burkina Faso plans to build a small nuclear power plant with Rosatom

The authorities of Burkina Faso are negotiating with Rosatom on the construction of a low-power nuclear power plant by 2030, the republic's ambassador to the Russian Federation Aristide Tapsoba told Izvestia. The state corporation confirmed that the legal framework for the implementation of projects is currently being prepared, and personnel training is underway. At SPIEF 2025, the parties signed a memorandum on the development of nuclear infrastructure. Experts believe that a small nuclear power plant is suitable for low energy consumption in Burkina Faso, but safety risks remain. Rosatom is in dialogue with more than 20 African countries. A nuclear power plant is already under construction in Egypt, preparatory work is underway in Ethiopia.

Cooperation between Burkina Faso and Russia in the nuclear field

Burkina Faso expects to build a small-capacity nuclear power plant together with Rosatom by 2030, Ambassador of the African Republic to the Russian Federation Aristide Rapugdondba Ludovic Tapsoba told Izvestia. He confirmed that the necessary personnel is already being trained.

— We have excellent relations with Rosatom. Our students are already studying nuclear technologies. — Ed.). In five years, I think we will be able to build a nuclear power plant. For now, we are looking at low—power nuclear power plants, but in the future, of course, we will build a large one," the ambassador told Izvestia.

Rosatom is strengthening its strategic partnership with Burkina Faso, opening a new page in the development of peaceful nuclear energy in West Africa. Today, the priority is to create a reliable regulatory framework for the implementation of projects for the peaceful use of atomic energy, the press service of the state corporation told Izvestia.

"A more detailed study of the location of a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso is possible as the national energy system is modernized and scaled up and an international legal framework is formed," Rosatom said.

Negotiations on the development of nuclear energy in the African Republic have been underway for the past few years. In October 2023, Russia and Burkina Faso signed a memorandum of understanding on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. And in March 2024, at the Atomexpo-2024 forum, the parties approved a roadmap for the development of cooperation. In August of the same year, the Government of Burkina Faso launched the Atomic Energy Agency.

A new step forward was made at SPIEF 2025, where three key memorandums were signed covering personnel training, the development of nuclear infrastructure and the formation of a positive public perception of nuclear energy.

At the same time, Ouagadougou cooperates with Russia in training workers for the future nuclear power plant. In 2024, Burkina Faso agreed to send students to leading universities in Russia to receive specialized education in the main specialties in the field of nuclear energy.

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— Special attention is paid to personnel training. This year, the first student from Burkina Faso started studying in Russia under the Rosatom quota. Next year, six places have been allocated, and we plan to expand these programs as cooperation develops. In general, today more than 400 students from African countries are studying at Russian universities in engineering, management and core nuclear specialties," Rosatom noted.

Low-power nuclear power plants are compact modular systems with a capacity of up to 300 MW. Their main advantage is the possibility of rapid construction in a few years, rather than decades, like conventional nuclear power plants. As Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University and the National Energy Security Fund, noted in an interview with Izvestia, Burkina Faso is interested in a small nuclear power plant because it has a small and decentralized energy consumption.

The risks of building a nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso

However, the main problem is that Burkina Faso is facing attacks from terrorist groups. To combat extremism, Burkina Faso and its neighbors, Niger and Mali, have created an alliance of Sahel States. Despite all efforts, it is impossible to say that there is at least relative security in Burkina Faso today, warns Ivan Kopyttsev, a junior researcher at the Institute of Africa of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Africa in the Focus of Russian Interests program at MGIMO of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

"Therefore, in any case, the construction of such an object should be accompanied by maximum security measures, specific military units are needed to protect it," the expert emphasized in an interview with Izvestia.

The African Republic needs a new stable source of energy to meet the growing demand. According to the World Bank, Burkina Faso's economy grew by 4.9% in 2024, compared with 3% in 2023. The country is consistently among the top five gold producers on the continent, and ranks third in terms of precious metal exploration. In addition, agricultural production is also growing.: Burkina Faso is the sixth largest exporter of cotton in the world.

Russia attracts Burkina Faso not only as an operator of nuclear power plant construction. The Russian company Nordgold manages the Bissa and Buli gold mines. It also holds a license to develop a field in the Corsimoro area. The Ambassador of Burkina Faso told Izvestia that new economic agreements with Russia are planned.

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— We already have a strategic partnership. I have no doubt that there will be new contracts in the future," the diplomat said.

The development of relations between Moscow and Ouagadougou accelerated after Ibrahim Traore came to power in 2022. The leader of Burkina Faso announced his country's support for Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. The volume of mutual trade is also growing. Thus, by the end of 2024, the trade turnover increased 4.8 times compared to 2023. The basis was the export of Russian food products, agricultural raw materials, and chemical industry products.

In which African countries is Rosatom building nuclear power plants?

Against the background of economic growth, African countries need more electricity. Currently, the African Development Bank Group estimates that the total level of access to electricity on the continent is just over 40%. Rising oil and gas prices threaten the economies of the African continent with loss of competitiveness. Therefore, nuclear generation is a good way to obtain energy and not depend on price fluctuations.

Rosatom is in dialogue with more than 20 African countries in such areas as the construction of large and small nuclear power plants, nuclear science and technology centers, and the development of uranium deposits. The state corporation has already signed memorandums of cooperation in the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes with Zimbabwe, Burundi, Mali and Niger. There are prospects for cooperation with Ghana. Recently, Russia offered to supply Mauritius with a floating nuclear power plant that would provide energy to the entire island nation.

The dialogue with other countries has already entered a specific phase. In September, Rosatom and the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation signed an action plan for the construction of a nuclear power plant based on the VVER-1200 reactor. The state corporation is already building a four-unit El-Dabaa nuclear power plant with VVER-1200 reactors in Egypt. In October, nuclear scientists installed a thrust farm (part of the reactor shaft equipment) at power unit No. 1. Commissioning of the first stage is planned in 2028.

Rosatom is also developing uranium mining projects in Namibia and Tanzania. And in 2023, the Rosatom fuel company and the South African Atomic Energy Corporation signed a memorandum of cooperation in the manufacture of nuclear fuel and its components.

Igor Yushkov emphasized: Rosatom is a company that operates in all areas of nuclear energy, from the construction of facilities to the processing of nuclear fuel. In addition, African countries are attracted by the possibility of obtaining preferential loans for the construction of nuclear power plants, while other companies will not offer them such a profitable scheme.