Active progress on Egypt’s El Dabaa NPP

22 October 2018


Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on 18 October that the Russian Finance Ministry may use the National Wealth Fund (NWF) to lend money for the construction of Egypt’s El Dabaa nuclear plant, starting from 2020 or 2021. He said Russia would provide finance for the project $3-4 billion a year. 

The funds held by Russia's NWF are expected to reach 7% of gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of next year, up from 2.2% of GDP at the end of 2018, which would allow for investments in important projects.  
Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom is developing the 4800MWe El Dabaa NPP, which will be owned and operated by Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA) and which is expected to account for up to 50% of Egypt’s power generation capacity when completed. The plant will comprise four Generation 3+ VVER-1200 reactors, with construction scheduled to begin in 2020. El Dabaa 1 is expected to begin commercial operations in 2026 followed by the other three units in 2028. 

El Dabaa is part of Egypt’s nuclear programme, which began in 1954. The El Dabaa site was selected in 1983 and the decision for its construction was announced in 2007. The site was approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2010, but work stopped in 2011 following political unrest and local protests.  Egypt later signed two contracts with the Russian Government for the construction and financing of El Dabaa in 2015 and the first stage of a preliminary engineering survey was conducted in 2016 followed by a hydrographic and hydrological survey in 2017. The engineering, procurement and construction contract was awardedto Atomstroyexport (ASE - part of Rosatom) in December 2016. ASE is the general contractor for the project, and Rosatom’s Atomproekt was selected as the general designer.

Russia undertook to fund approximately 85% of the construction through a $25bn loan repayable over  22 years at an interest rate of 3% a year. The remaining 15% will be raised by Egypt from private investors. The contract covers the supply of nuclear fuel over the plant’s entire operational life and assistance with operation and maintenance of the plant for the first ten years of operation. Rosatom will also build storage and supply containers for storing used fuel.

The project was discussed on 17 October by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin during Al-Sis’s visit to Sochi. "Preparatory activities started on the site. Contracts with Egyptian companies intended to be proactively engaged as subcontractors are planned to be signed by the year-end," Putin noted.

Earlier in October France’s Assystem was awarded a first contract to support the development of the El Dabaa NPP to assist ASE in obtaining the necessary licences and permits. GE Power also announced it had won a $700m contract to deliver the turbine island equipment for the plant through AAEM, its joint venture with Russia’s Atomenergomash (part of Rosatom). Rosatom will also train 2000 Egyptian technicians for the plant, Rosatom Vice president  Sosnin Gregory told Ria Novosti on 13 October. 
 



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