Kenya plans KSh80bn nuclear research reactor at Konza to make cancer isotopes

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The government plans to build a nuclear research reactor at Konza Technopolis at a cost of KSh80 billion, with the aim of producing medical isotopes for cancer diagnosis and treatment in Kenya rather than importing them.

Science, Research and Innovation Principal Secretary Abdulrazak Shaukat told the Kenya News Agency that the project will be procured as a public-private partnership (PPP). He was speaking after an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) review mission in Nairobi hosted by the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA).

“This is a mega project and you know very well that we already have a framework in Treasury for public-private partnerships. This is one of the projects that we are going to undertake through this arrangement,” Prof Shaukat said.

What the reactor would produce

According to NuPEA, the Konza facility would produce radioisotopes such as molybdenum-99, which is used in cancer diagnosis and treatment. It would also support scientific research and industrial work.

Kenya relies on imports of these products from South Africa, and many patients travel to India for treatment. The PS said Kenya records about 43,000 new cancer cases a year across the 47 counties, with about 20,000 deaths.

He defended the price tag. “When you look at this investment it is a huge amount of money. But you can see the dividends that we are going to get out of this. Can you imagine if we have our own centres of producing medical isotopes, and we don’t need to import anymore?” he said.

The IAEA review

The meeting in Nairobi was the second phase of the IAEA’s Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review mission for a new research reactor. The agency uses these missions to check whether a country has the laws, regulators, staff and safety systems needed before it commits to a nuclear facility.

Prof Shaukat said Kenya has been an IAEA member since 1965 and already has trained personnel. “It’s not something new that we are doing. Kenya has been a member of the IAEA since 1965. We have the capacity,” he said.

NuPEA chief executive Justus Wabuyabo said the IAEA is guiding the country on safety and security, and that all safeguards will be addressed before the project goes ahead. If it is built, Kenya will join 55 countries that run research reactors, eight of them in Africa.

A training ground for the power plant

Mr Wabuyabo linked the reactor to Kenya’s plans for nuclear power. “Kenya is going to ground-break for the first nuclear power plant of 2000 megawatts in Siaya next year, with the power going to the grid in 2034,” he said. “Instead of taking all our engineers and scientists to study abroad we can utilize this research reactor as a training ground for the workers in the nuclear power plant.”

He also said the facility could draw patients from Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia who now go to India for treatment.

What has not been disclosed

Officials did not give a construction timeline, a private partner or the way costs would be split between the State and investors. They also did not say how much of the KSh80 billion would come from public funds.

Under the Public Private Partnerships Act, 2021, a project of this kind has to go through the PPP Directorate and the PPP Committee before a partner is picked. The government has used the same route for other large projects, including the port concessions at Mombasa and Lamu.

The reactor would sit at Konza, the government’s technology city about 60 kilometres south-east of Nairobi on the Mombasa road, which already hosts the Konza National Data Centre and is planned to house research and university campuses.

It is one of several science projects for which the State is courting outside partners. The Kenya Space Agency, for instance, has been holding talks with Chinese satellite firms on data access and training.