Twenty firms bidding for SA’s nuclear project
SOUTH Africa was not backing down on the nuclear programme and the cabinet would soon look at the companies bidding for the tender, Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson said yesterday during a briefing by ministers in the international co-operation, trade and security cluster.
She said nuclear was part of the government’s energy mix programme.
She said Eskom had issued a request for proposals last Dec and that 20 companies were bidding for the nuclear tender.
However, she did not give their names.
“Twenty companies have expressed interest in the programme. Once we have information, we will take it to the cabinet,” said Joemat-Petterson.
The nuclear programme, worth R1 trillion, has led to criticisms of the government.
Opposition parties have called for the government to scrap it, and environmental groups have taken the government to court over it.
They have complained about the alleged secrecy around the programme, and the true cost.
During his State of the Nation Address, President Jacob Zuma reiterated that nuclear was part of the country’s energy mix programme.
Last year the Department of Energy told Parliament the first nuclear power plant would not come on stream in 2022 as expected.
However, the indications suggested that it would come on stream in 2032. This is a 10-year delay that has forced the government to shift the deadline.
The government has denied that the nuclear project will bankrupt the state.
It said it would look at the bidders and how much it could afford.
Joemat- Pettersson said yesterday Eskom would now procure nuclear power on behalf of the government.
Eskom went ahead with the request for proposals last December despite objections from opposition benches in the national legislature.
Zuma said last year that the nuclear programme would be implemented at a scale and cost that was affordable to South Africa.
He said they would not go beyond what they could afford, and that nuclear energy was necessary for energy security.