The bidding process for six to eight nuclear power plants in South Africa – a deal potentially worth $80 billion or more – will begin in July, the government in Johannesburg said.
The program is being billed as a potential 1-trillion rand program. Without naming a specific date, the government said the bidding process would begin next month, according to the Business Report.
Deputy Director-General for nuclear energy Zizamele Mbambo said it was expected that construction would begin in 2017, although many of the details would be worked out after the bidding process was complete. The total price would also be determined largely by the bids received, he said.
“Once we have selected the bidder, those details will be firmed up with the bidder,” he said.
He also said financing was feasible, although that point has aroused criticism. Some say, the ambitious program is out of reach financially for the country.
On Sunday, President Jacob Zuma named Silas Mzingeli Zimu, a former senior manager at Eskom as his advisor on energy, the report said.