Russia to sell nuclear fuel to South Africa - Putin

CAPE TOWN, Sep 5 (Reuters) Russia has signed a deal to supply fuel to South Africa's only nuclear power station and is looking to expand cooperation in the sector, President Vladimir Putin said today.

Putin, on his first trip to the African state, told a news briefing the deal would cover the period to 2010, but gave no further details.

''We propose the widening of this cooperation and making our cooperation in the sphere of developing atomic energy for peaceful aims long term and large scale,'' he said.

Russia is reorganising its civilian nuclear sector as it seeks to widen sales of nuclear technology abroad, expanding into the energy hungry markets of Asia and Africa.

South African officials have said that the Koeberg plant, which imports all its fuel requirements, was considering processing its own uranium to boost power generation and envisages building up to six new nuclear reactors.

South Africa abandoned its nuclear arms programme before the end of apartheid in 1994.

South Africa has been hit by power blackouts due to an ageing energy infrastructure and a recent shutdown at its Koeberg nuclear power station.

Koeberg plant, in the Western Cape province, is Africa's only nuclear-fired facility and produces about six per cent of South Africa's electricity generation.

Its two nuclear reactors each generate about 900 megawatts of electricity.

REUTERS SHB KP2033