Sri Lanka approves the construction of nuclear reactors and is now awaiting offers from possible suppliers. Russia well placed
The Sri Lankan Government is evaluating nuclear energy as an option to support the country's growth and energy independence, and has received Cabinet approval, Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said.
Wijesekera said that to develop nuclear energy, it is necessary to create a legal framework and plans to deal with an emergency.
“We have obtained Cabinet approval to seek EOIs (expressions of interest) from eligible investors to establish a nuclear power plant in Sri Lanka, but before establishing a nuclear power plant there are certain legal frameworks required by global agencies.
“There are some criteria we have to meet, so we're going to do that.”
In November 2023, Wijesekara told Parliament that several countries, including Russia, France and the United States, have offered to collaborate with Sri Lanka on nuclear technology.
Wijesekara said Sri Lanka needs international assistance to evaluate the technology best suited to the country.
“Building a nuclear power plant takes a minimum of 4 years – some countries have taken 14-15 years to do so. If we start now, we will have the power plant ready and the reference framework ready. What the Government wants is to have nuclear energy as an option,” Wijesekera said.
Russia in Pole Position to supply the reactors
At the end of 2023, a high-level delegation from Russia had visited the island nation and discussed the proposed cooperation in the nuclear energy sector with the Sri Lankan authorities.
The Russian delegation had talked about developing an offshore or onshore nuclear power plant in Sri Lanka. In general, the Colombo government had already decided to evaluate nuclear energy as a possible solution to the supply problems of the country, which is heavily dependent on gas.
Many countries, including the United States, Denmark and China, have expressed interest in investing in nuclear power plants in the island nation after the SLAEA gave the green light to nuclear energy, but Russia was in a great position
In favor of Moscow was the leadership situation in the construction of nuclear power plants in South Asian countries. It has demonstrated its efficiency and understanding of the region by building plants in countries such as Bangladesh, China and India. So the Sri Lankan government is watching with great interest what Russia has to propose.
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The article Sri Lanka approves the construction of nuclear reactors and now awaits offers from possible suppliers. Well placed Russia comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/lo-sri-lanka-approva-la-realizzazione-di-reattori-nucleari-e-ora-attende-le-offerte-dai-possibili-fornitori-la-russia-ben-piazzata/ on Sat, 09 Mar 2024 07:00:46 +0000.