Construction starts on Egypt’s first nuclear plant

According to a joint statement from nuclear energy company Rosatom and Egyptian authorities, construction has now begun on the Russian state-owned nuclear plant on the north coast of Egypt.

(Photo: NPPA)

The Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) stated in a press release that the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy for Egypt, Dr Mohamed Shaker, and Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev, both attended a ceremony to mark the ‘first pour of concrete’ for the first unit of the El-Dabaa NPP.

The plant is said to be Egypt’s first and a total of four units with pressurised water reactors will be built – each with a generating capacity of 1,200MW.

Contracts for the project were entered into force in December 2017, based on an inter-governmental agreement signed by Russia and Egypt in 2015, but construction has been delayed for several years due to a number of issues. 

The NPPA stated that the contracts specify that Russia will also supply nuclear fuel throughout the lifecycle of the plant, arrange for the training of the Egyptian personnel, and assist in the operation and maintenance of the plant for the first ten years.