Russia agrees to help Ghana build a 2,000MW nuclear power plant

Russia has agreed to work with Ghana towards building a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant, Ghana's government says, after President John Dramani Mahama met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

The two leaders held talks on Friday, October 30, after the third Russia-Africa summit. Ghana's foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, announced the nuclear plan as one of six commitments secured from the meeting.

Ghana's first nuclear power station

Mahama said Ghana had opened discussions with Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, on building the country's first nuclear power plant. Rosatom said it was in talks with four African countries, including Ghana, on large nuclear projects, Reuters reported.

Ghana's government says the plant would strengthen energy security and support industrialisation. The country has suffered from unreliable electricity supply and frequent power cuts, known locally as "dumsor", which hurt businesses and households.

Cost, timeline and financing have not been announced. Analysts note that large nuclear projects typically take a decade or more to build and require huge investment, and that Ghana also has nuclear cooperation agreements with China and the United States.

A revived ambition

Nuclear power has long been part of Ghana's plans. Its first president, Kwame Nkrumah, began preparations for nuclear energy in the early 1960s, and Mahama noted that the Soviet Union supplied Ghana with a research reactor in 1964. The programme stalled after Nkrumah was overthrown in a 1966 coup.

The other commitments

According to Ghanaian officials, Russia also agreed to:

• support Ghana in acquiring strategic military equipment under a new defence agreement
• increase university scholarships for Ghanaian students
• deepen cooperation on grain production and access to fertiliser

Putin also assured Mahama that steps would be taken to stop Ghanaians from being drawn into the war in Ukraine, after reports of Africans being recruited to fight.

Russia's push into Africa

The deal reflects Moscow's growing outreach to Africa, where it is offering nuclear technology, weapons, grain and education in return for influence and access to resources. Rosatom is already building Egypt's first nuclear plant at El Dabaa.

For Ghana, the challenge will be turning a political commitment into a bankable project without taking on unaffordable debt.