French President François Hollande in South Africa argued the case that France should be given the opportunity to build six new nuclear power plants in South Africa, France24 reported.

 

South Africa is seeking to expand its nuclear program as an alternative to coal. Currently, the country’s Koeberg nuclear power station is the only commercial nuclear plant on the African continent.

 

Koeberg’s status is almost certain to change. The South African wants to construct six more   reactors over the next 20 years to meet a growing demand for energy.

 

But Paris faces competition from several other countries to build the nuclear reactor.

“The Russians have been here, the Chinese have been here. . . . The Americans have been here, the British have been here. You name it,” said South African nuclear consultant Philip Lloyd. “Everybody is saying ‘You want six nuclear reactors, we are here to sell them to you.'''

 

In addition, Hollande met with his counterpart, South African President Jacob Zuma, and the pair stated that they had reached a deal in which the French energy company GDF Suez would build both a thermal and solar power plant in South Africa.

 

Al Jazeera reported that France will also grant South Africa’s power giant Eskom a loan of $130 million loan to construct a solar power station and a wind farm.