Rosatom specialists have completed concreting of the second tier of the internal containment (VZO – Vnutrennei Zatsitnoi Obolochk) at unit 2 of the El Dabaa NPP under construction in Egypt. The work was carried out ahead of schedule. The concreting process took a full day, and some 65 people were involved in the work. More than 1,000 cubic metres of concrete have been 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.
“Today we have completed a key event,” said Alexey Kononenko, Vice President of Atomstroyexport JSC and Director of the El Dabaa NPP construction project. “The work was completed earlier than planned due to close cooperation between the Egyptian and Russian sides, the professionalism of the specialists involved in the work at this facility, as well as the application of the best practices of the Rosatom production system. With the second tier of the VZO the structure is now more than 20 metres high. The third tier is planned for completion by the end of a year increasing the height to more than 29 metres.”
Dr Sharif Helmi Mahmoud, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA), noted: “The El Dabaa NPP construction project is moving at a steady pace in accordance with the approved schedules, which reflects accurate planning and effective implementation at all stages of the project…. This achievement is a new step in the implementation of the nuclear project, confirms the commitment to international technical standards and proves the competence of national personnel, as well as fruitful cooperation with the Russian general contractor, Atomstroyexport.”
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.
