Korea to evaluate proposed Ugandan nuclear power plant site

Friday, 30 May 2025

Under the contract - signed in the Ugandan capital Entebbe on 27 May - as the main contractor KHNP will manage the entire project, with Dohwa Engineering and KEPCO Engineering & Construction also participating. The contract period is 26 months, from this month to July 2027. During this period, KHNP and its partners will evaluate the following factors in accordance with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) standards: climate of the site; natural disasters such as floods, geology, and earthquakes; cooling sources; events such as aircraft collisions; and movement and impact of radioactive materials. 

Along with the results of the site evaluation, KHNP said it plans to propose a site layout for four Korean-designed APR1400 reactors "to lay the foundation for nuclear power plant exports".

KHNP signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy in March 2023 in the presence of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

"This contract signing is a meaningful first step toward exporting Korean-type nuclear power plants to the African market, which has great growth potential," said KHNP President Hwang Joo-ho. "Based on our cooperation with Uganda, we will expand KHNP's presence in Africa."

Uganda's Atomic Energy Bill came into effect in 2008, to regulate the use of ionizing radiation and provide a framework to develop nuclear power generation. The government then signed an agreement with the IAEA to initiate moves in that direction. The Uganda Vision 2040 roadmap launched in April 2013 incorporates the development of significant nuclear capacity as part of the country's future energy mix. Under the roadmap, Uganda plans to build six pressurised water reactors with a capacity of 8400 MWe by 2040 in the Buyende region.

According to the Ugandan energy ministry, eight potential sites were identified in Buyende, Nakasongola, Kassanda, Kiruhura and Lamwo Districts. These were then ranked using ranking criteria to arrive at a candidate nuclear power plant site. The proposed site for the first nuclear power plant project is in Kasaato Village, Kidera Subcounty, Buyende District, with alternative sites in Nakasongola and Kiruhura Districts.

Uganda - which is currently reliant on hydro for about 80% of its electricity - has also signed nuclear cooperation agreements with China and Russia.

In August 2023, President Museveni announced that Russia and South Korea had been selected to build two nuclear power plants in Uganda with a combined capacity of 15 GWe.