Egyptian Nuclear Plant Prepares for ‘Promising Start’

A nuclear plant is expected to see “a promising start” by the end of 2021, Russian officials said, after visiting the project’s site on the Mediterranean coast.

Russian state-owned Rosatom, which specializes in nuclear energy, is working to inaugurate the first nuclear power plant in Egypt, in the city of El-Dabaa (130 km northwest of Cairo).

The plant consists of four nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts.

A joint delegation from Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority and officials from Rosatom paid a visit to the Dabaa plant site at the end of February to check on the work progress.

Dr. Gregory Sosnin, director of the Egyptian Dabaa nuclear project, said that the technology of the nuclear reactors selected for the plant “makes me confident that the Dabaa nuclear plant is one of the safest and technologically-advanced nuclear plants not only in the African continent, but also in the world.”

Once operational, it will become the first nuclear plant in Africa with advanced third generation reactors, and will contribute significantly to reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, he added.

According to a statement, the officials expressed “their satisfaction with the progress of the works on the project,” which they said would witness a major launching this year.

Nuclear power plants in Egypt are being built according to contracts that entered into force on December 11, 2017. In addition to the construction of the plant, Russia will also supply nuclear fuel throughout the operational life of the Dabaa station, organize trainings for Egyptian human cadres and provide support and maintenance for the plant over the first ten years of operations.