President Sisi instructs applying int'l safety standards at Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant

CAIRO – 18 August 2021: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi directed applying highest international safety standards at Dabaa nuclear power plant (NPP) being built in Matrouh Governorate on the Mediterranean coast.

The president also emphasized the need for coordination among all the bodies involved in the project, including the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA), the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (ENRRA) and the General Authority for Urban Planning (GAUP) to carry out a thorough study of future population growth around the project area, in cooperation with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

In 2014, Egypt and Russia announced their cooperation in the nuclear power field. On November 19, 2015, an agreement was finally signed between Cairo and Moscow that allows Russia to build a nuclear power plant in the Mediterranean city of Dabaa, with Russia extending a $25 billion loan to Egypt to cover the cost of construction. The loan will cover 85 percent of the plant, with Egypt funding the remaining 15 percent.

According to the deal, Rosatom finances and constructs four third-generation reactors, with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW) each, for a total of 4,800 MW. The plant will be built on approximately 12,000 feddans and is expected to create over 50,000 job opportunities.

Nuclear energy is part of the government’s plan to diversify its energy sources to prevent any future crisis resulting from shortages in electricity.

Last July, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker said that the project to establish the Dabaa nuclear plant is witnessing positive dynamic developments, adding that the approach toward the Egyptian nuclear dream is proceeding with the full support of the Egyptian political leadership and whatever challenges lie ahead the professional Egyptian-Russian team is able to address them effectively and successfully.