Finance Minister, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson will tomorrow present the 2026 Mid-Year Budget Review to Parliament and one question that could shape Ghana’s long-term industrial future is whether the country’s decades-old nuclear power programme will finally receive the financial and policy attention.
Proponents of the agenda have raised concerns over the need to move from the long and winding planning phase to actual implementation.
Moreover, the state of the programme has become more pressing following former Power Minister Dr. Kwabena Donkor’s argument that Ghana’s current electricity generation mix cannot support aggressive industrialisation, insisting that the country must invest in low-cost baseload power such as nuclear energy and clean coal if it is serious about building a competitive manufacturing economy.
This comment of the former minister comes at a time when President Mahama’s administration is pursuing an ambitious industrialisation agenda through the 24-Hour Economy and the Big Push infrastructure programme. The agenda aims to expand value addition in mining, petroleum and manufacturing, and all sectors that depend on abundant and affordable electricity.
A Long Journey, But Progress Remains Slow
Ghana’s nuclear ambition dates back to the Kwame Nkrumah era and has been progressing under the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) three-phase development framework.
Although Ghana officially entered Phase Two of the programme in 2022, the country is yet to complete critical activities such as detailed site characterisation and environmental assessments required before construction can begin.
The government selected Nsuban in the Western Region as the preferred site in 2023, a process later validated by the IAEA, while President John Mahama reaffirmed in May this year that the administration remains committed to constructing a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant.
However, key decisions on the project’s technology partner, financing model and construction timetable remain outstanding.
Funding Remains the Biggest Obstacle
Despite renewed political commitment, the programme continues to face significant financial constraints. Officials have acknowledged that some of the technical studies needed to prepare the project for construction remain unfunded, raising concerns that the programme could face further delays.
Industry observers have also criticised the slow pace of decision-making, arguing that prolonged uncertainty over vendor selection and financing risks weakening investor confidence and allowing competing African countries to move ahead in attracting strategic nuclear partnerships.
Industry Wants Affordable Baseload Power
For Dr. Donkor, the urgency extends beyond electricity generation to the broader competitiveness of Ghana’s economy. He argues that electricity generated largely from thermal plants remains too expensive for energy-intensive industries and that solar power, while important for households and public institutions, cannot provide the stable baseload required by heavy manufacturing.
He believes nuclear energy could eventually reduce generation costs to as low as two to four US cents per kilowatt-hour, positioning Ghana to support industries such as aluminium smelting, steel production and petroleum refining more competitively.
A Key Test for the Mid-Year Budget
Against this backdrop, the upcoming Mid-Year Budget Review is expected to reveal whether the government intends to back its industrialisation agenda with concrete commitments to accelerate the nuclear programme.
Beyond reaffirming policy support, stakeholders will be watching for funding allocations for outstanding technical studies, clarity on the vendor selection process, progress on financing arrangements, and a credible implementation timeline.
For many industry players, the issue is no longer whether Ghana needs nuclear power, but whether the pace of execution can match the country’s industrial ambitions.
The Mid-Year Budget Review may therefore offer the clearest indication yet of whether the long-running nuclear programme is finally moving beyond aspiration toward reality, or will continue to advance at a pace critics increasingly describe as too slow for an economy seeking rapid industrial transformation.
