Russian nuclear giant Rosatom has kicked off work on Egypt’s first reactor with the pouring of the concrete base at the nuclear plant located in the city of El Dabaa, Matrouh Governorate, on the Mediterranean coast, roughly 300 km north-west of Cairo. 

 

On completion, the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant will boast four VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors with total capacity of 1200 MW.

 

The project, which was conceived in the 1980s, was agreed by presidents Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Vladimir Putin in December 2017, but the start of works was then subject to numerous delays.

 

In February 2020, three Egyptian companies – Petrojet, Hassan Allam and Arab Contractors – were chosen to begin site preparation work.

 

As per the contract, Rosatom will be responsible for the funding and construction of the plant in addition to supply of Russian uranium to fuel it. Also the company will assist in personnel training and support the Egyptians in the operation and servicing of the Nuclear Power Plant for the first 10 years of its operation.

 

They will provide training to Egyptian engineers to help update their skills needed to run the reactors. The Russian group will also build a storage facility for nuclear fuel.

 

Speaking at the ceremony, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev said: "The construction launch at the El Dabaa NPP Unit 1 means that Egypt has joined the nuclear club. Rosatom will build cutting-edge power units of VVER-1200 design in the Arab Republic of Egypt."

 

"We have gained experience constructing and operating NPPs with such reactors both in Russia and abroad. Construction of the nuclear power plant will allow Egypt to reach a new level of technology, industry and education development. The plant will be the largest project of the Russian-Egyptian cooperation since the Aswan High Dam. Having its own nuclear energy industry has been a dream for the Egyptian people for more than half-a-century, and it is a great honour for Rosatom to make this dream come true," he stated.

 

He was joined by Dr Mohamed Shaker, Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, and Dr Amged El-Wakeel, Board Chairman of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority of Egypt (NPPA), the owner and future operator of the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, at the pouring in ceremony.

 

Dr Shaker dubbed the commencement of full-scale construction of Unit 1 as a historic event for Egypt.

 

"The political leadership and the Egyptian-Russian cooperation contributed to implementation of this ambitious project despite the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic which did not have a negative impact on the project," he added.-TradeArabia News Service