Rosatom may receive a license to build the power units of Egypt's first nuclear power plant (NPP) at Ed Dabaa on the Mediterranean Sea in the first half of 2022. The availability of these documents will allow direct construction work on the power units to begin and the pouring of the "first concrete," Aiman Hamza, spokesman for the country's Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, told TASS on Thursday.
"Permission to build the first two reactors is expected in the first half of next year," he said. - "Procedures for preparing documents for the third and fourth reactors will follow."
"The Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) has provided the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (ENRRA) with documents for the permit to install the first and second units of the Ed Dabaa nuclear power plant in accordance with Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Law No. 7 of 2010," Hamza said. - "This is the necessary procedure to start pouring concrete for the first and second units, given the need to obtain technical licenses for each stage.
"Currently, work is underway to complete the logistics of the project, as well as to prepare the site and infrastructure for the nuclear power plant itself and workers," the TASS interlocutor said. - "The filing of these documents can be considered confirmation that the project is proceeding as it should within the framework of recognized international standards."
Earlier on Thursday, Rosatom said the NPPA handed over to ENRRA the package of documents needed to obtain permission to build the first and second units of the nuclear power plant (NPP) in Ed Dabaa. "This is an important milestone in the implementation of the NPP project. As soon as the permit is issued, the parties will be able to start full-scale construction," the state corporation pointed out.
The Ed Dabaa NPP is the first nuclear power plant in Egypt that will be built on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, about 300 km northwest of Cairo. It will consist of four power units of 1,200 MW each with VVER-1200 generation 3+ reactors. This is the latest generation technology, which already has references and works successfully. The Russian-Egyptian intergovernmental agreement on the construction of nuclear power plants worth $30 billion was signed in November 2015 in Cairo. At the same time, the parties signed an agreement to provide Cairo with a $25 billion state export credit for the NPP construction, which will cover 85% of the work. The Egyptian side must cover the remaining costs by attracting private investors. The project is planned to be implemented within 12 years. Egypt's payments on the loan, provided at 3% per annum, should begin in October 2029.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS