China looks to build nuclear plant in SA as it seeks growth in Africa

The Chinese government may build a nuclear plant in SA as part of its investment in Africa's energy sector.

In a lecture, organised by the SA National Energy Association, Standard Bank's Thomas Orr said one of China's five major power-generation groups could invest in a nuclear plant in this country.

Orr, an investment banker in the bank's Africa energy office, was presenting a lecture on China's role in the continent's infrastructure drive.

Orr helped Standard Bank, Africa's largest bank, establish a branch in Beijing following the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's acquisition of 20% of Standard Bank in 2008.

About 530 million people in Africa have no access to electricity, according to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Chinese power projects in Africa include:

• A 600MW thermal (coal-fired) plant in Botswana;
• A 560MW gas-fired plant in Ghana;
• A 400MW hydro-electric plant on Ghana's Bui Dam;
• A 300MW hydro-electric project on Ethiopia's Tekeze Dam; and
• A 360MW hydropower project on Lake Kariba in Zambia.

In return, China will be looking for resources, Orr said. Africa supplies almost 40% of China's oil imports and has vast, untapped reserves of copper, iron ore and uranium. These will be vital in continuing to fuel the Asian giant, whose economy has grown by more than 10% annually for the past 30 years, lifting 600 million people there out of poverty.

"There is a national drive to survive and meet the needs of its 1.3 billion population which, 30 years ago, was poorer than Lesotho," Orr said. "There are lessons to be learnt here."

China has installed power capacity of 860GW, compared to 40GW in SA. It is looking to double its energy capacity in the next 10 years, which will mean going out into the world to source oil.

It now imports 52% of its oil and gas requirements.