The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) has signed two additional nuclear cooperation agreements with Chinese entities as part of preparations for South Africa's nuclear new build programme.

At a gathering to welcome 50 South African trainees to the prestigious Tsinghua University, in Beijing, on Wednesday, Necsa CEO Phumzile Tshelane lauded the group as the pioneers and pathfinders for the new build programme.

He asked the students to take advantage of the Chinese experience and bring lessons back to South Africa on completion of their training. "South Africa is at the cusp of a new nuclear destiny,” he added.

Tshelane signed an agreement on nuclear power plant construction training with China Nuclear Energy Engineering Group president Jun Gu. This agreement would see South African trainees undergoing training on nuclear power plant building in China, which had the largest nuclear build programme, with 29 new nuclear reactors currently under construction.

Necsa also entered into an agreement with the State Nuclear Power Technology Company for training on project management for nuclear power plant construction. Through this agreement, South African project managers would be placed at Chinese nuclear sites for experiential training.

It was estimated that thousands of skilled engineers, scientists and artisans would be required at the peak of construction of South Africa’s nuclear new build programme.

"Through this collaboration with China we are enhancing our skills base with practical experience from China's massive nuclear build programme. This also cements the relationship between the two countries who are indispensable partners in the exploitation of nuclear technology,” Tshelane said.