OREANDA-NEWS.  The State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM to promote its nuclear technology and other related product and services on the South African market within the 5th BRICS Summit in Durban. A high-level delegation from Rosatom will descend in the city of Durban as part of a delegation from the Russian Federation to participate in the first ever BRICS Summit to be hosted in South Africa. Mr Kirill Komarov, ROSATOM Deputy Director General, is planning to make a presentation “Nuclear as a factor of social and economical development” during BRICS Business Forum.

“The BRICS Summit will give ROSATOM the platform to engage with key stakeholders on global politics and share information about its expertise, products and services in the field of nuclear technology”, said Loyiso Langeni, Press Secretary of Rusatom Overseas in South Africa.

ROSATOM is joining a list of global companies that are considering South Africa as a base to expand its operations on the African market. Last year ROSATOM opened a marketing office in Sandton. This was the third marketing office of its kind in the world after Ukraine and Singapore. South Africa is contemplating to shore up its energy security through a diversity of sources including nuclear power plants. In fact in a submission to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Department of Energy in Pretoria emphasised that “nuclear power is a safe, affordable and reliable source of energy that can bring many benefits to our nation”.

Last month the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano visited South Africa to exchange notes with major industry stakeholders. At a public engagement at the Institute for Security Studies, Mr Amano made the point that other African economies such as Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt were also considering using nuclear technology as a means to diversify energy sources. According to ROSATOM’s position, South Africa and her neighbours on the continent can benefit from the expertise of the utility to increase reliance on nuclear power.

ROSATOM is the world’s only company that offers a complete nuclear power cycle and it is holding leading positions on the nuclear technologies market. Rosatom manages an annual USD 70 billion (US dollars) portfolio of orders with a presence in more than 40 countries in 5 continents. It accounts for 17% of the world nuclear fuel market. It is ranked the 1st in the world in terms of constructing new Nuclear Power Plants. It is the 4th in the world in terms of nuclear electricity generation. It has 45% of the world’s uranium enrichment services while being ranked the 2nd in the world in terms of uranium reserves and the 4th in terms of uranium production.

Industrial capacity, financial resources, state support and experience accumulated by the Russian nuclear sector allow ROSATOM to offer unique integrated solutions in NPP construction and to build up capacities for managing a national nuclear power program. These solutions include a wide range of products and services – from uranium extraction to NPP construction, consulting national legislative and regulatory frameworks, personnel training and investment attraction.  ROSATOM integrated solutions in nuclear power can be adapted to meet the client’s needs and the specifics of a given project. The company offers universal solutions, encompassing all possible aspects of creating a fully-fledged nuclear power complex in the client country.

Mr Alexander Kirillov, Head of ROSATOM Marketing Office in South Africa (South African Branch of Rusatom Overseas) says that the company offers a comprehensive package that ensures the localisation of works within a nuclear power plant construction project. “Localisation will at the initial stage of the project be at 30% of production which will eventually peak at 65%”, Mr Kirillov said. Mr Kirillov added that localisation benefits during the construction phase could directly increase revenues for local companies. About 15 000 direct employment opportunities while between 9000 and 19 000 indirect jobs could be created during the construction phase, Mr Kirillov concluded.