Breaking: Sisi, Putin kick-start Egypt's Dabaa nuclear plant

CAIRO - 11 December 2017: Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who is currently visiting Egypt, witnessed Monday signing of agreements to start working on Dabaa nuclear plant.

"The agreement is reflecting the strength of relations between both countries," Sisi said in a joint conference with Putin.

The nuclear plant is expected to not just cover the country’s energy needs and to produce a surplus which can be exported.

The agreement completes an preliminary agreement signed with 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.

Russian nuclear firm Rosatom will finance and construct 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.