- Ghana Pledges US$200m to Prepare for Nuclear Plant Deal by 2028
Ghana has committed US$200 million over two years to prepare for a nuclear power project, setting a target to sign an engineering, procurement, construction and financing contract by December 2028. The pledge moves the country’s long-running nuclear ambition into a defined budget period. It does not mean the country will generate nuclear electricity by that date.
The Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson, said the readiness programme would run from January 2027 to December 2028. Its work is expected to cover site suitability, technology selection, environmental assessment, financing arrangements, licensing preparations, safeguards, emergency planning and a safety case.
The government intends the plant to remain fully state-owned, with international partners providing technology, finance, engineering and specialist services.
The Minister made the distinction explicit: “Nuclear power readiness in 2028 does not mean nuclear power generation in 2028.” The milestone is a contract-signing target, not an operational date.
That clarification matters because readiness work is only one stage in a project that will require construction, commissioning, regulatory approval and a long-term plan for operating and maintaining the plant.
The US$200 million is therefore not the cost of the power plant. The budget announcement does not specify the plant’s capacity, selected technology, final site, total construction cost or the terms under which financing would be provided. Those decisions are among the issues still to be resolved during the readiness period.
That leaves an important financing question. State ownership can give government strategic control over a major power asset, but it also means the public balance sheet may ultimately carry substantial construction, repayment and operational risks.
The announcement says external partners will provide financing and technical services, but it does not yet explain who will bear cost overruns, how the debt will be repaid, what tariffs the plant would need or how the electricity would be purchased and dispatched.
Those questions matter in a power sector already carrying significant fiscal pressure. The 2027 Budget says the state is spending about US$1.4 billion a year to cover energy-sector shortfalls.
It also sets out wider plans for generation, transmission and distribution, including a 1,450-megawatt state-owned thermal plant and grid upgrades. Nuclear power is being advanced alongside these investments, not in place of them.
Ghana’s current electricity system relies mainly on thermal generation and hydropower. The Energy Ministry reports installed capacity of about 4,132 megawatts, comprising 61 per cent thermal, 38 per cent hydro and less than 1 per cent solar.
Nuclear power could eventually add a stable source of baseload electricity and diversify the generation mix. But whether it improves reliability or lowers costs will depend on the plant’s eventual price, construction schedule, fuel arrangements and integration with the grid.
The US$200 million commitment also addresses a weakness identified earlier in the programme: funding for essential technical studies had been insufficient.
In March, project officials said the lack of money for critical studies risked delaying the work needed to advance the project; they also described an earlier phase that had been delayed by late government releases. The new allocation could provide greater certainty, but only if funds are released predictably and the studies are completed to the necessary standard.
The readiness period must also build domestic expertise. The budget says the government plans to train more than 2,000 scientists to support the transition. That is important for a project that will require Ghanaian regulators, engineers and operators to oversee a complex facility over several decades.
Training numbers, however, are only an input. The practical measure will be whether the country develops the institutions and specialist workforce needed to regulate, operate and maintain the plant safely.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s roadmap has been accepted by Ghana, and the country’s nuclear programme has been working through preparatory milestones. But the path from readiness to construction depends on more than technical studies.
It requires an effective independent regulator, clear emergency-response responsibilities, a long-term approach to radioactive waste and transparent public communication about safety and environmental impacts. These are not peripheral concerns to be resolved after a contract is signed. They are part of the conditions that make the project investable and publicly credible.
The budget’s next challenge is to convert the headline pledge into a public implementation plan. That should identify annual spending, responsible agencies, procurement arrangements, study milestones and how progress will be reported.
It should also disclose the assumptions behind the EPCF model, including the expected financing terms and the division of risks between the state and its partners.
Nuclear power could support Ghana’s industrial ambitions if it eventually provides reliable electricity at a competitive cost. But a contract target is not yet a power supply, and state ownership is not a guarantee that the project will be affordable.
The US$200 million is an investment in readiness; its value will depend on whether Ghana uses the two-year window to resolve the technical, regulatory and financial questions that determine whether construction should proceed.
The December 2028 deadline will test the government’s ability to complete those preparations. The more important test will be whether the country reaches a contract decision with enough information to understand the full cost, risks and public obligations.
Ghana’s nuclear ambition is now backed by a substantial readiness allocation. The case for the plant itself still has to be demonstrated.
