3 March 2022: In the Nigerian International Energy Summit in Abuja, yesterday, The Director General of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Agency, Dr Yau Idris said that the bidding process for the preparation of the a 4000MW nuclear power plant has started.

He also disclosed that this will be the largest power plant in the country and would greatly enhance the nation’s power generation capacity.

There has been distress around whether Nigeria would be able to undertake such a tremendous task of delicate nature, considering the country’s peculiar security situation. But Dr Idris was quick to defend the nation and stressed point he fact that assuming Nigeria is incapable of managing a nuclear project is wrong.

“There are mechanisms put in place that ensure any country can build a nuclear power plant. Nigeria is trying to deliver 4,000MW of electricity through nuclear power. We are trying to construct four units and we are at the bidding stage,” he was quoted by local media to have said.

According to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IEAE) titled "Invitation and Evaluation of Bids for Nuclear Power Plants” - “The development of a nuclear programme is a major undertaking requiring attention to many complex and interrelated tasks over a long duration. One of them is the bidding process, which includes the development of bid invitations specifications, the evaluation of bids and the contracting with the successful bidder (contractor). The necessary infrastructure should be developed to the point of readiness for a bidding process to acquire a nuclear power plant (NPP). Therefore, the preparatory phase preceding the bidding process includes numerous activities, such as but not limited to, energy system planning, siting and feasibility studies, environmental impact assessment, development of nuclear related legislation, financing, organization of the regulatory authority, etc," part of the report said.

Nigeria being a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and is required to follow the protocol for the requirements for the bids. And ultimately, the goal is to ensure that the successful bidder (i.e., the winning contractor) has all it takes to enable the licensing, construction, commissioning and operation of a nuclear power plant.