Russia and Tanzania are discussing small nuclear power plants and floating energy units as Dar es Salaam seeks to diversify its energy mix to meet projected electricity demand of 70,000 megawatts by 2050, following high-level bilateral talks in Moscow and St Petersburg.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan confirmed the nuclear exploration during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2026, noting that state-owned Rosatom is actively discussing the technology with Tanzanian authorities. The push follows broader discussions between President Hassan and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on June 3, 2026, covering economic cooperation across energy, transport, healthcare, and geological exploration.
We’re transitioning to clean energy. We’re interested in the sort of energy mix that will enable us to generate clean energy. We’re interested in building small nuclear power plants, which Rosatom is currently discussing with Tanzania.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan, via The Citizen
Energy Demand Pressures and Hydropower Reliance in Tanzania
Current national electricity generation capacity stands at 4,646 megawatts against peak demand of roughly 2,271 megawatts, figures bolstered by the commissioning of the 2,115-megawatt Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP) on the Rufiji River.
Hydropower now accounts for more than 60 percent of capacity. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy Felchesmi Mramba warned that climate change has exposed the risks of depending too heavily on a single generation source.
We cannot rely on one source of energy because climate change has taught us a hard lesson. Diversifying our energy mix to include cleaner and more reliable options like nuclear is no longer a luxury but a necessity for our industries and the SGR.
Felchesmi Mramba, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, via The Citizen
Natural gas also anchors the grid, holding estimated reserves of 57 trillion cubic feet while historically accounting for over 40 percent of capacity. Alongside hydro and gas, the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (TANESCO) utilizes diesel generation. To sustain industrialization and an expanding Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) network, planners project electricity consumption to hit 8,000 megawatts by 2030 before surging to 70,000 megawatts by 2050.
Rosatom Operates Uranium Project in Mkuju River
Rosatom’s engagement with Tanzania extends past prospective reactor talks into the country’s mineral sector through the Mkuju River uranium project in Namtumbo District. Operated by Mantra Tanzania Limited—a subsidiary of Rosatom’s Uranium One Group—the project holds the Nyota sandstone deposit, which carries an in situ uranium resource estimated at approximately 58,500 tonnes by international resource assessors, including the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency and IAEA.
A pilot processing plant was commissioned in July 2025 to evaluate extraction systems ahead of a commercial facility target date in 2029. Mantra maintains a projected annual output target of roughly 3,000 tonnes of uranium once full operations begin.
| Uranium Metric / Facility | Reported Figure |
|---|---|
| Nyota Deposit In Situ Resource | 58,500 tonnes |
| Measured and Indicated Resources | 47,927 tonnes |
| Inferred Resources | 10,562 tonnes |
| Planned Annual Commercial Production | 3,000 tonnes |
If the Mkuju River mine achieves its 3,000-tonne annual production goal, its output would rank second among African uranium-producing countries based on 2024 comparisons, trailing Namibia’s 7,333 tonnes while sitting ahead of Niger’s 962 tonnes and South Africa’s approximately 200 tonnes.
Workforce Training and the Dar es Salaam Women in Nuclear Forum
Preparing local technical talent remains a core pillar of the bilateral engagement. Six Tanzanian students graduated in 2025 from a joint Mining Geology master’s program run with RUDN University, completing internships at Rosatom’s Dalur uranium operation in Russia. Five additional Tanzanian students undertook industrial training at Dalur later that year.
Professional cooperation also took center stage on October 22, 2026, when Dar es Salaam hosted the first Russia-Africa Women’s Forum, titled Dialogue of Continents: Nuclear Energy for the Future
. Co-organized by the Rosatom Women’s Community and Women in Nuclear Tanzania (WiN Tanzania) with support from the Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission, the gathering drew delegates from across the continent.
Our goal is to turn the exchange of expertise into practical projects that open up new professional opportunities for women and enable nuclear technologies to improve people’s quality of life.
Tatiana Terentyeva, Deputy Director General for Human Resources at Rosatom State Corporation, via Ippmedia
During the forum, participants signed international memoranda of cooperation and a 2026–2028 roadmap with WiN Africa, which links professional networks across more than 22 nations. Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission Director General and WiN Tanzania Najat Kassim Mohammed noted that expanding nuclear medicine and radiation technology alongside potential nuclear power is steadily increasing local demand for trained nuclear engineers, physicists, and radiation safety specialists.
Egypt Shows Interest in Floating Nuclear Units
Alongside land-based small modular reactors, Rosatom leadership has advanced discussions regarding marine-based nuclear options for coastal nations. Speaking on the sidelines of Russian Energy Week, Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev reported that the corporation is discussing floating nuclear units with African countries, highlighting strong interest from Egypt in localizing shipbuilding and integrating small nuclear power units.
Rosatom’s floating power unit model utilizes 100-megawatt barges equipped with two RITM-200M reactors. Industry analysts note that such units could reduce on-site construction burdens because fresh and spent fuel handling would occur at specialized facilities in Russia rather than at the customer’s operating location.
While Rosatom promotes these technologies ahead of the Third Russia–Africa Summit in Moscow, Tanzanian officials emphasize that no final construction contracts, reactor selections, financing agreements, or site determinations have been finalized for any commercial nuclear plant in the country as discussions proceed.