Cairo, Moscow conclude 3 contracts promoting Dabaa project: Lavrov

CAIRO – 21 August 2017: Moscow concluded three contracts with Egypt that shall promote the Dabaa nuclear project in Marsa Matrouh governorate on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in a Monday joint press conference in Moscow with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.

Egypt and Russia reached an intergovernmental agreement on Nov. 19, 2015 that granted the construction of Dabaa nuclear power plant using Russian technologies and backed by a $25 billion loan from Russia.

The nuclear power plant, to be developed by Russian state-owned firm Rosatom, will consist of four units generating 1200 MegaWatt. Egypt hopes that the launch of the first nuclear power plant will take place in 2024.

Lavrov further said that bilateral negotiations on establishing a free economic area in the Suez Canal Development Zone are to begin soon.

“Moscow and Cairo are to start negotiations within two or three months to establish a free trade zone between Egypt and the Eurasian Economic Union,” Lavrov said in the joint press conference in Moscow.

The last meeting between Shoukry and Lavrov was in Cairo in last May.