SA plans new nuclear power station by 2020

I'm not surprised that Government is taking the lead.

Lots of opportunities for some hefty kickbacks in a project like this...

The idea is good that SA is planning to build its nuclear power station. But this time they must ensure that the process i run smoothly in terms of awarding the tenders. We are witnessing some disturbing news of people within goverment having got kickbacks from these kinds of projects. These must be dicouraged in greatest contempt.

Did I hear someone say "Chernobyl"?? We can't even manage Eskom .... wherever the proposed nuclear plant is going to be built -- I'm movin'.

hahahahahah I hear you guys, damn, can you imagine the tender debacle on this one. I see another arms deal happenning here. I shit myself to think which one of the bright sparks, already booted from one or several Gov run businesses, is going to get this hot potato to manage.

With this lot's track record I hope they don't build the thing anywhere near to where I live!!

i'm hoping there are no mysterious bolts and such. The plant should be engineered to make such impossible. And yeah, hope they build this thing as far from me as possible.

The first plant has performed well. It is only after planned neglect of preventive maintenance to enhance profits (and bonuses)that the saboteur chucked a bolt in the works (s'true as Alec). It is the tender process where the vultures feast, and the operating of a high-tech plant with AA and BEE appointees that can ensure a very expensive flop, that worries me.

The contract awarded almost always includes maintenance, administration and training over a prolonged period upon completion of the construction phase. As the contract will be awarded to either French or American companies the local component will be limited to civil engineering, the nuclear technology and know how emanating from abroad.

This is the 2nd time this process has begun, with the foresight and vision that typifies both Eskom and the SA government under Mbeki the whole thing was cancelled last year at almost the same moment the oil price plunged from $140 to $40 signalling to these brain-dead leaders that the country's energy crisis had ended!

Shame, South Africans... so capable yet so pessimist!

Rather use lessons from the past to demand accountability and positively contribute to the brilliant plan.

I wonder what it will take to make South Africans realise what a "better off" country they have, compared to most parts of the world.

It is sad to see...

Nuclear NEEDS MAINTENaCE a LOT everyday??????

We can't even maintain our roads.... lucky roads doesn't explode!!!

As long as you give it to foreigners to manage

South Africa should be the country of solar. Feed in tarriff's that Germany , Japan and now us in Kalifornia the land of the Govenator have them. Anyone can start generating power on their property and get paid for it. From wind, solar, methane . Farmers are able to make extra money with their land and feed into the local grid. It also saves from having to build massive power lines for delivery since it comes from your neighbor. M & G should lead with stories on the great success these are.
Nuclear just means your politician's have some nice Swiss bank accounts. You are being made hostage for billion's of Rand going offshore rather than starting local industry that put thousands of people to work all over the country. In America we spend billion's of dollars just storing the waste every year. The tax payers pay for this, not the Nuclear industry.
Starting a bribery task force is the first place to go with this one.

Er, Case, WTF, sure if you mean like right now and if you are comparing it to Like Iraq, Afgan.. Somalia and just about every other African country. But considering the type of people we have in Gov, (forget about thier colour, I just mean competence, ethics, morals) what would you say the future looks like? What kind of a future will your kids or young white kids have in this country???????

Nobody living in this generation will see a nuclear power station built by South Africans. There are certainly capable people here to build and maintian such a system but they will not succeed past the tender processes neither will they be interested in such a project. Not even our coal fired units are Current S.A designed, engineered and built, its either old technolgoy or foreign.

Uranium is a fossil fuel, which becomes extremely dangerous the moment it is exposed to air. It is already polluting our precious rivers and groundwater, making SA extremely water scarce. People, crops and animals (vertebrates and invertibrates) are dying as a result of the polluted water. So nuclear is threatening both food and water security in South Africa, before we even start building a very expensive power station.

THe Finnish plant is already behind schedule, over-budget and proving to have failures in its structue. The jobs there have mainly gone to Polish and not Finnish nationals. Areva have been unable to tell the Finnish government what the final cost will be.

We cannot afford nuclear in SA, so wake up everyuone and start protesting against it. Join the Campaign against Nuclear Energy or EarthLife Africa. If you are near Pelindaba, join the Pelindaba Working Group - remember that if there is an accident there, you have now insurance to claim for damages caused by it, so hope that you are dead. No insurance company offers insurance against a nuclear accident.

silly plan. nuclear will be very out-of-fashion by 2020 due to growing environmental backlash against polluting energy.

much better to make environmentally friendly, renewable energy of some kind, not importing french skills and technology and sending all that money to france.

locally we will make the new solar panels via sasol; we can make stirling motors with mirrors pointing at a boiloer like the one in spain; wind, tidal energy.

the nukes is a waste of time and money, and only the corrupt politicians want it so they can feed their greed, and so remove more wealth and power from they people they are supposed to be looking after.

only politicians want nukes, nobody else. the people want jobs, so local small energy is obviously the way to go.

I hope that they tell us the real price this time or at least multiply the advertised by four so that it is not another airbus debacle

@Judith, are you serious? Do you honestly know what Uranium is? Do you know what is going into our water systems? ITS COAL byproducts, not Uranium! Oh and where we do mine Uranuim is in very arid regions. Nuclear is the only source that can replace fossil fuels in the short and medium term future <50 years, by then I agree that renewable sources are the way to go. I cannot believe I just read such rubbish from you! Go and read Wikipedia and donate some money to them as well.

@Judith Taylor,
You obviously mean well; but clearly you don't have the foggiest what you are talking about.
If you want to be an advocate for the environment, may I suggest that you educate yourself first and only then comment?
Otherwise you run the risk of ridiculing the case for taking care of the world we live in –which IS a vitally important case.

I agree - those bozo's at Eskom could not even read the Areva proposal which was self funding- Eskom forgot to read the annexures - thank God otherwise the clever Jacks and Chancellor House would have been in for another R20bn plus in kickback.

Bring out your vote http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-eskom-extortion-now.html