Accra-Ghana, May 30, GNA – The Japanese and United States governments have pledged support for Ghana’s nuclear power programme.
The support has been prompted by Ghana’s efforts at adding nuclear power to its energy mix to have a resilient energy system that would spur green growth and sustainable economic development.
Mr Mochizuki Hisanobu, Japanese Ambassador to Ghana and Mr Dean Matlack, a representative of the US Ambassador to Ghana, made the pledges at a forum in Accra on Ghana’s nuclear power infrastructure development on Tuesday.
The forum was to enable players in Ghana’s nuclear power sector learn from the experiences of Japan in many areas, including manpower, waste management and socio-economic impacts of nuclear power.
Ghana has settled on a site for the construction of its nuclear power plant as the world shifts towards having sustainable solutions required to meet the growing energy demands.
“The United States government is fully committed to the success of Ghana’s nuclear programme and we’ll continue to work together to ensure that Ghana can safely and responsibly add nuclear power to its energy mix,” Mr Matlack said.
“We’re enthusiastic about Ghana’s strong and focused push for its nuclear energy and we’ll be with Ghana every step out of the way,” he said, noting that Ghana would be better positioned to contribute to addressing the growing energy needs and climate crisis.
Mr Hisanobu said Japan remained committed to supporting Ghana’s efforts to benefit from peaceful use of nuclear energy by exploring the possibility to transfer cutting edge nuclear technologies to the country.
He said to make Ghana a regional Small Modular Reactor (SMR) hub, Japan and the United States last year signed a strategic partnership with Ghana to facilitate the installation of small modular reactors.
“To materialise and enhance the trilateral cooperation, the Government of Japan has been providing support for feasibility studies to be conducted by Japanese private companies, IHI Corporation and JGC Corporation in partnership with their American counterparts,” he said.
He said he was confident that continuous collaborations and cooperation, including the forum, would create a plan that put safety, sustainability and the welfare of the citizens first as the country matched towards its nuclear power and energy transition agenda.
Mr Thomas Mbomba, Deputy Minister, Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, noted that Ghana had established a strong foundation for bilateral relations between Japan and US.
He said further cooperation between them would help in the actualisation of Ghana’s nuclear power programme and entrench the relations into other areas, including healthcare, education, agric, trade and industry.
The nuclear power programme would strengthen and accelerate Ghana’s transition effort, which is aimed at decarbonising the energy sector and transition to a 100 per cent clean energy by 2070.
He said Japan’s technical capacity, industrial advancement and unique nuclear experience in nuclear power made it an international model for newcomer countries, including Ghana to learn from.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the side-lines of the forum, Mr Humphrey Ayim-Darkeh, President, Association of Ghana Industries, said that adding nuclear power to Ghana’s energy mix would be a good omen for industry.
“We welcome this intervention as this nuclear route will bring a significant cost reduction in the base rate of the mix of power generation. It is imperative that decision makers embrace this agenda,” he said.
“The speed with which we attain this nuclear base in our energy mix will be one of the landmarks for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) agenda and the industrialisation of Ghana,” Mr Ayim-Darkeh added.
