Rosatom specialists have completed the first stage of concreting the second tier of the internal containment (VZO – Vnutrennei Zatsitnoi Obolochk) at unit 2 of the El Dabaa NOO under construction in Egypt. The concreting process lasted continuously throughout the day involving 100 people.
Dr Sharif Helmi Mahmoud, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA), said this achievement “is the result of the joint efforts of the Egyptian team, represented by the customer – NPPA, and the Russian team represented by general contractor Atomstroyexport”.
During the second stage of concreting the second tier of the VZO, 1,200 cubic metres of concrete will be laid in the reactor building. The VZO is a cylindrical structure which will house the reactor and primary circuit equipment. The second tier of the VZO consists of 12 sections which were manufactured at the production base of the Egyptian construction site. Each section is 12 metres long, 14 metres high and weighs 60-90 tonnes.
“The second power unit reactor building is approaching implementation of one of the key events of 2025 – with the completion of the concreting of the second VZO tier, which is scheduled for May this year,” said Alexey Konenko, Vice President of Atomstroyexport and Director of the project for the construction of the El Dabaa NPP. “Confident and steady work is being carried out on the site, the key to which is fruitful cooperation with the Egyptian customer and the high professionalism of our colleagues from contracting organisations.”
El Dabaa NPP will comprise four units with generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors. The NPP is being constructed in accordance with contracts that entered into force in 2017. The $30bn project is mainly financed through a $25bn Russian loan. Rosatom will supply nuclear fuel throughout the lifecycle of the plant, arrange for the training of the Egyptian personnel, and assist in the operation and maintenance of the plant for the first 10 years. The reference plant for El Dabaa is the Leningrad-II NPP. Construction of all four units is planned for completion by 2028-2029, and Egypt expects that the NPP will reach full capacity by 2030.
