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Environment department accepts Thyspunt nuclear plant scoping report

Published

The acceptance lets Eskom's proposed 5 200-megawatt plant in the Kouga Local Municipality move to the full Environmental Impact Assessment phase. It does not allow construction. Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor Babalwa Lobishe welcomed the decision.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment accepted the final scoping report for the plant at Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape. The decision is not an authorisation to build the plant.

Lobishe said the project offers chances to strengthen energy security, support industrial growth and create jobs in the region. She said Nelson Mandela Bay is ready to anchor the investment. She also said nuclear power can coexist with coastal communities, tourism and a healthy environment when it is properly managed.

She said the department sets rigorous requirements for the project. In her words: "We welcome this scrutiny. Development that ignores the environment and the people who live alongside it is not development we want".

Key facts

Who
Babalwa Lobishe (Nelson Mandela Bay Mayor); Oscar Mabuyane (Eastern Cape Premier); Eskom (proposer of the nuclear power plant); Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (government department that accepted the final scoping report)
What
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment accepted the final scoping report for Eskom's proposed 5 200-megawatt nuclear power plant at Thyspunt in the Kouga Local Municipality, allowing the project to proceed to the full EIA phase; the decision is not an authorisation to construct. Mayor Babalwa Lobishe welcomed the decision.
When
23 October 2026
Where
Thyspunt, Kouga Local Municipality, Eastern Cape
Status
Reported

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