Egyptian Energy Minister and ROSATOM Director General visit El-Dabaa NPP construction site

Cairo, July 16 - Neftegaz.RU. ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev and Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohammed Shaker visited the construction site of Egypt’s El-Dabaa NPP.

The delegation visited the power units’ construction site, where they received firsthand information on the current status of the project, and inspected the port facilities that will be used for the transport of heavy equipment for the NPP.
The guests also visited the town where Russian personnel working on the construction project are being accommodated.

A.Likhachev said:

• The teams work as a single organism, setting big goals and making every effort to achieve them
• Such well-coordinated efforts have yielded, one might say, the most important milestone of the current design stage: at the end of June, together with the customer, we handed over to the regulator the entire package of documentation required to obtain permission for the construction of the first 2 power units

M.Shaker noted:

• We see positive dynamics towards this project’s implementation
• Of course, this systematic approach to realising Egypt’s nuclear dream is taking place with the full support of the country’s political leadership
• No matter how difficult the challenges we face, the joint Egyptian and Russian team of professionals will be able to successfully overcome them

ROSATOM’s 1^st Deputy Director General for Nuclear Energy Alexander Lokshin called the visit «productive and eventful».
He said:

• We managed to synchronise our efforts with our Egyptian partners and outline further steps towards the fulfillment of the tasks that have been set out

Chairman of Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plant Authority Amged El-Wakeel added that:

• The construction of the NPP will be an impetus for the country’s subsequent economic development, help achieve the goals of Egypt's 2030 Sustainable Development Plan, and will incentivise growth in the industrial and tourism sectors of the Matrouh province and Egypt on the whole

The power plant will consist of 4 VVER-1200 nuclear reactors with a total capacity of 4.8GW, which is expected to account for up to 50% of Egypt’s power generation capacity.
The 1^st unit is expected to begin commercial operations in 2026 while commissioning of the remaining 3 reactors is scheduled for 2028.

The VVER-1200 reactor is a 3rd-generation pressurised water reactor that is fully compliant with all international safety and IAEA requirements.
It is designed to withstand the crash of a 400t airplane or earthquakes up to an intensity of 9 on the Richter scale.

The project is expected to boost the country’s economy and industrial development by creating up to 50,000 jobs.
The design lifetime of the plant will be 60 years.