Nairobi: Kenya hopes to build its first nuclear power plant in the next five years with help from France, Prime Minister Raila Odinga said yesterday. “We want to establish a nuclear plant. We want to start with a plant of the average of between 1,000 and 2,000 Megawatts (output) and we are looking at five years from now,” Odinga said in an interview. Odinga said nuclear power was one option Kenya was considering as it looked for ways to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

“We want to begin the cooperation right now so we can begin the training of personnel who will man this plant in the future, and France has offered to cooperate in that scheme of things,” he said.

France was more experienced in nuclear power than many other countries, Odinga said, as nearly 80% of the country’s energy is nuclear-generated, and Kenya hoped to draw on this expertise.