On behalf of Russian side, the document was signed by Director General of State Specialized Design Institute JSC (GSPI) Vyacheslav Galushkov, on behalf of Zambian side – by Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education of the Republic of Zambia Mabvuto Sakala. Director General of ROSATOM Alexey Likhachev and the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Zambia Mathew Nkhuwa were present in the signing ceremony.

«The CNST will be located 10 kilometers away from the capital of Zambia, Lusaka. It will include a nuclear research facility based on a multipurpose research water-cooled reactor of up to 10 MW, a state of the art laboratory complex, a multipurpose irradiation center as well as a cyclotron-based nuclear medicine center», – Rosatom states.

The Center’s radiation technologies will be mainly applied in three areas. Healthcare is the first one. CNST-produced isotopes will be used for diagnosing and treating primarily cancer and cardiac diseases. The use of radiation in agriculture will improve food safety and create conditions for the increase of Zambian agricultural exports. The CNST will also promote the development of national education and science through the training of highly qualified experts in various fields.

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Research reactors are utilized for the development of scientific innovation and education in more than 50 countries. Currently, there are 245 working research reactors around the world with 58 units operated in Russia. Rosatom has built more than 120 research reactors in Russia and abroad. In September 2017, Russian State Atomic Corporation signed a contract for the construction of Nuclear Science and Technology Center with Bolivian government.