Uganda and Russia are collaborating on a six-reactor nuclear power plant as part of Uganda’s broader nuclear energy initiative.
Uganda’s growing demand for energy, particularly for industrial purposes, is driving this partnership with Russia’s state-run company Rosatom.
The countries have signed a roadmap for the plant’s development and are exploring uranium deposits and potential plant sites.
Beyond nuclear cooperation, Russia has upgraded Uganda’s military infrastructure, supplying equipment and building new facilities.
By Chinedu Okafor
During a plenary session at BRICS Construction Week in Kazan, Uganda’s Minister of State for Lands, Harriet Ntabazi, noted that the nuclear project between Russia and Uganda comprises a 6-reactor nuclear power plant.
Parties from Uganda and Russia’s state-owned nuclear company, Rosatom, have signed a roadmap for the plant’s development.
The plan was disclosed by Foreign Minister Abubaker Jeje Odongo at the time, who noted that Uganda was exploring a nuclear energy agreement with Russia.
Speaking to Russian media, Odongo said the proposed deal would cover the construction of a nuclear power plant in the East African country.
The Ugandan minister relayed that the deal stems from the fact that the demand for energy in Africa is increasing, particularly for industrialization.
He went on to say that the African country values nuclear energy.
A month earlier, on the margins of the International Youth Festival, Uganda’s Minister of Energy, Okaasai Sidronius Opolot, had disclosed that the government had begun comprehensive planning to choose a location for a nuclear power plant and was looking into uranium deposits.
By January 2025, the nuclear collaboration was brought up again, as the CEO of the Russian state corporation, Rosatom, revealed that Uganda and Russia were going over construction plans for a nuclear plant.
As recently reported by Sputnik, At that time, Foreign Minister Abubaker Jeje Odongo disclosed the initiative, noting that Uganda was examining a potential nuclear energy agreement with the Russian Federation.
The budding relationship between Russia and Uganda goes far beyond just nuclear cooperation; both countries also share a security partnership.
At a meeting on the 9th of October, Major General Sergei Marchuk, head of the Russian military, told Uganda’s president, Yoweri Museveni, that several military infrastructure projects agreed upon during an earlier meeting had been completed.
The projects include an arms and military equipment park in Magamaga, a maintenance and repair centre for watercraft in Entebbe, and facilities for rapid-response military units.
Russia also supplied a floating berth and technical equipment for marine security operations at Port Alice in Kalangala.
A mobile command post was also installed at the Marines School in the area.
At the Mechanised Warfare College in Karama, Russian specialists set up a multimedia training room for crews operating BRDM-2M armoured reconnaissance vehicles, UBC reported.
According to Military Africa, Uganda’s armed forces had received engineering and naval equipment worth about $53 million, or 184 billion Ugandan shillings, from Russia as of 2025.
Museveni welcomed the assistance, describing Uganda’s ties with Russia as a longstanding relationship that dates back to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.
