Infrastructure Minister Damien Murwanashyaka has reassured senators that Rwanda is building the expertise and capacity needed to ensure its planned nuclear energy programme is safe and productive.

Murwanashyaka made the remarks on Tuesday, September 22, during a Senate Committee on Economy and Finance session on government efforts to expand electricity generation and access.

He was responding to questions from Senator Frank Habineza about the safety and cost considerations around Rwanda’s plans to introduce nuclear energy, including how the country would manage radioactive waste and the materials and equipment required for nuclear power.

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"Even if we think of nuclear as a solution, we need to think about the potential of other sources of energy, such as floating solar, instead of investing huge amounts of money in nuclear energy and ending up affecting our small country,” he said. He further asked about the efforts to avoid accidents related to such infrastructure, giving an example of one that happened in Japan in the past.

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In response, Murwanashyaka explained that Rwanda took the potential challenges into account and is building local expertise before adopting the technology.

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"Science develops as time evolves. The mistakes that happened in the past left lessons. As a country, we are building capacity,” he said.

The minister said some Rwandans had been sent for training in nuclear technology, while others were still studying.

"We are building the capacity to ensure the technology is productive and safe,” Murwanashyaka said.

Rwanda expects to start generating about 110MW from nuclear energy between 2030 and 2033. The government is currently working on the approval of two sites for the planned facilities.