Parliament approves draft law on regulating nuclear activities

CAIRO – 25 November 2017: Parliament’s Energy and Environment Committee approved on Saturday a draft law aimed at regulating the activities of nuclear power stations in the country, which is the first of its kind in Egypt.

The 19-article draft law, which was revised by the State Council's department of legislation, was sent by the Cabinet to Parliament last April for more discussions.

The draft law states that the new executive authority will coordinate closely with the Nuclear Power Stations Authority and the Nuclear and Radiation Control Authority.

"The new executive authority, which will be affiliated to the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, will be exclusively tasked with supervising the construction of nuclear power stations in terms of selecting contractors, reviewing the progress of construction works, the experimental operation of these projects and issuing firsthand reports on them," said the draft law's explanatory note.

The draft law states that the board of the new executive authority will include representatives from the ministries of electricity, defense, interior, finance, planning, telecommunication, military production and environment, as well as affiliated provincial governors, the State Council, the Nuclear Power Authority, and the Nuclear and Radiation Control Authority.

Representatives from the General Intelligence and the Administrative Control Authority will be also allowed to attend the meetings of the new executive authority as "observers without having voting powers."

The board will have a four-year renewable term of life.