The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) has been installed at unit 2 of the El Dabaa NPP under construction in Egypt. The event was attended by Egypt’s Minister of Electricity & Renewable Energy, Dr Mahmoud Esmat; Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly; Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev; and the Russian Ambassador to Egypt Georgy Borisenko as well as International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi.
The RPV, weighing more than 340 tonnes was installed in the centre of the reactor shaft using a heavy crawler crane with a lifting capacity of 1350 tonnes. The installation required accuracy within one tenth of a millimetre. The next stage of work at unit 2 will be the start of welding of the main circulation pipeline (MCP).
In his welcoming speech, Prime Minister Madbouly said the installation was another important step towards the implementation of one of the largest national projects in Egypt and one of the most important national projects within the Egypt-2030 strategy. He also recalled that since the middle of the last century, Egypt and Russia have implemented a number of important infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s.
“Our project to build the El Dabaa NPP is moving at a very good pace, noted Alexey Likhachev. “Seven months ago we installed the reactor vessel at the first power unit, and today we are already carrying out a similar operation at the second. This is an important event both for the power unit and for the entire project. It allows us to begin the next key stage – welding the main circulation pipeline.”
