Egypt’s PM: Nuclear energy cornerstone of sustainable development

CAIRO - 22 November 2021:  Under the auspices of President Sisi, Egypt’s government celebrated, for the first time, the Egyptian nuclear energy day on Monday, November 22, 2021.

 

In his speech, Prime Minister Moustafa Mabdouli said that Egypt, for many decades, paid more attention to nuclear energy as it is one of the pillars and strategic options to enhance development plans.

 

“Egypt is one of the first countries that realized the importance of using nuclear energy since the beginning of the 1950s,” he said.

 

“With the signing of the governmental agreement between Egypt and Russia on November 19, 2015 under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, Egypt has entered a new era towards promising hopes and bright prospects for the future,” he added, in an indication to the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in the Mediterranean city of Dabaa in Marsh Matrouh governorate.

 

He continued that the day of signing this agreement is truly a festive day for all Egyptians and for the nuclear sector in particular. Since then the Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) has moved towards achieving a dream, he said.

 

Diversifying the energy sources and maintaining a clean environment, are among the most essential elements to achieve the goals of the sustainable development strategy - Egypt Vision 2030, Madbouli added.

 

“The use of nuclear energy to generate electricity is one of the cornerstones of sustainable development, as it is one of the clean energy sources that are free of carbon emissions,” he continued.

 

On November 19, 2015, President Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin witnessed the signing of the Dabaa nuclear power plant contracts between the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy and Russian nuclear firm Rosatom. The contracts cover designing and constructing the plant, supplying nuclear fuel, consulting services for operation and maintenance, and fuel recycling.

 

The plant includes four third-generation reactors with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW) each, for a total of 4,800 megawatts. The plant will be built on approximately 12,000 feddans and is expected to create over 50,000 job opportunities. The first reactor will be accomplished in 2026, while the rest will be finished in 2028.

 

A preliminary agreement was signed by Egypt and Russia in November 2015 to build a nuclear power plant in Dabaa, along with a $25 billion loan to cover 85 percent of the plant, with Egypt funding the remaining 15 percent. Local funding for the first two reactors will be 20 and 25 percent respectively, and will gradually increase to 35 percent for the other two reactors.