Russian nuclear corporation to break ground for next NPP block in Egypt

Russian state-run nuclear corporation Rosatom will begin the construction of Unit 3 of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant (NPP) in Egypt, laying the first concrete into the facility’s foundation on May 3.

The construction of the plant’s first two units began in 2022, and, according to Roscosmos, it proceeds according to the schedule, TASS informs.

El Dabaa will be the first nuclear power plant in Egypt and Rosatom’s first major project in Africa.

It will be built in the city of El Dabaa in the Governorate of Matrouh on the Mediterranean Sea coastline. The El Dabaa NPP will comprise four units, each having a capacity of 1200 MW and equipped with a Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactor (pressurized water reactor). This is the most advanced technology to date and it has already been successfully implemented and operated in Russia and abroad, Rosatom said. Egypt expects that the NPP will operate at full capacity by 2030.

In 2021, Rosatom handed over documents for the construction of El Dabaa’s four units to the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (ENRRA). According to the state corporation, obtaining ENRAA permission is a vital precondition for launching full-scale construction. The permission for the construction of Unit 3 was obtained on March 29, 2023.

Russia and Egypt signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of Egypt's first nuclear power plant in November 2015. The package of contracts came into force on December 11, 2017. In line with those documents, Russia will build the NPP, provide nuclear fuel for the full cycle of its operations, and help Egyptian partners in training and maintaining the facility during the first ten years of its operation. As part of another agreement, Russia will build a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and provide the Egyptian side with storage containers for fissure materials.

The total cost of construction is $30 billion. The parties also signed an agreement to provide Egypt with a state export loan of $25 billion for the construction of the nuclear power plant, which will cover 85% of the construction works. The remaining expenses are to be covered by the Egyptian side by attracting private investors. Under the agreement, Egypt is to start payments on the loan, which was provided at a rate of 3% per annum, in October 2029.