Simulator to train Egyptian workers for Dabaa power plant

CAIRO – 21 April 2018: Russian nuclear firm Rosatom announced that a simulator to train Egyptians on managing and operating Egypt’s first nuclear power plant in Dabaa will be established soon.

In statements to Russian media outlets, Rosatom affirmed that the simulator will include everything which is part of the real nuclear power plant in Dabaa, including programs, devices and the power plant functioning flow.

Everyone expected to work inside the power plant will take the simulator training to be familiar with the real station after being finished. According to the Russian firm, this simulator training is extremely necessarily to study and experience all of the functioning conditions of the power plant. This study will provide the workers the needed experience to mange any unexpected errors, along with knowing all of the needed maintenance methods.

Last February, Rosatom announced that the first protection system for reactors, which is planned to be installed in the nuclear plant of Dabaa, will arrive in Egypt in 2020, according to a press release.

The protection system, developed by the Russian company, is designed to shut down the reactor in case of a release of radioactive materials.

“Trap is a cone-shaped housing mounted on the bottom of the reactor pit. It is filled with special materials that, in case of emergency, mix with a melt of the active zone and ensure its even distribution in the body of the trap. The device can hold the melt an unlimited amount of time, not allowing radioactive substances to be released into the environment,” the statement added.

During a press conference between the Egyptian and Russian leaders in late December 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi witnessed the signing of the Dabaa nuclear power plant contracts between the Rosatom and the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy.

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.

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 percent and 25 percent, respectively, and will gradually increase to 35 percent for the other two reactors.