Algeria is planning to build its first nuclear power plant by 2025 as part of efforts to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity.

“We plan to have our first nuclear power plant in 2025 and we are in the process of working on this project,” Youcef Yousfi, the country’s Energy and Mines Minister, was quoted in the Algerian state media outlet Algerie Presse Service (APS) on 20 May.

Yousfi said that the government has created a nuclear engineering institute to train engineers and technicians, who will run the plant when it is completed. Algeria has uranium reserves of 29,000 tonnes, which is enough to supply two 1,000MW nuclear power plants for 60 years, said Yousfi.