A training and production complex (UPK – Uchebno Proizvodstvennovo Kompleksa) has been opened at the El Dabaa NPP under construction in Egypt. Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev attended the ceremony during the joint visit of delegations from Rosatom and Egypt’s Ministry of Electricity & Renewable Energy. Likhachev also inspected the NPP construction site.
The ceremony was also attended by Egypt’s Minister of Electricity & Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat; Rosatom First Deputy Director General for Nuclear Energy and President of Atomstroyeksport (Rosatom’s Engineering Division) Andrey Petrov; and the Chairman of the Board of Directors Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) Dr Sharif Helmi Mahmoud.
The UPK, with a total area of more than 5,000 square metres includes a production workshop, full-scale simulators, examples of NPP thermomechanical and electrical equipment from leading Russian manufacturers, and classrooms for teaching and computer training. The organisation of work at the complex complies with Russian standards for personnel training in the nuclear industry, while being adapted to the national requirements of Egypt.
All local specialists, regardless of their future specialisation, will complete a basic training programme there. The UPK is expected to have the capacity to train and improve the skills of about 20,000 workers involved in construction, installation of equipment, and commissioning. I will also verify the skills and competencies of new specialists joining the complex.
High-quality personnel training is the key to effective and reliable operation of any nuclear power plant,” said Likhachev. “We are confident that joint work and transfer of experience will contribute to the development of national competencies in the field of nuclear energy and will become a solid basis for further successful cooperation between Russia and Egypt.”
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.
During his working visit to Egypt, Likhachev also had talks with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, at which issues of Russian-Egyptian strategic cooperation in the field of using nuclear energy were discussed, as well as the progress of construction at El Dabaa. Likhachev noted that the construction of El Dabaa is an absolute priority for Rosatom.
“Thanks to the coordinated interaction between the Russian and Egyptian sides, full-scale construction and installation work is currently underway at all four power units at the station site,” he said. “More than 24,000 people are involved in the implementation of the project every day, and most of the team are Egyptian citizens. This contributes to the development of local competences and the creation of new jobs. We are confident that the successful implementation of El Dabaa will strengthen Russian-Egyptian relations, strengthen Egypt’s energy independence and become the basis for further technological partnership between our countries.”
The two sides also discussed the establishment of a physical protection system for the NPP. At the headquarters of the Ministry of Electricity & Renewable Energy a Protocol was signed on Amendments to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Cooperation in the Construction of a Nuclear Power Plant in Egypt, as well as an additional agreement to the EPC contract between Atomstroyeksport and NPPA.
The documents provide for possible Russian involvement in the design, supply of equipment and materials, and construction, installation and commissioning work for the physical protection system. The station site will be equipped with modern security systems that fully comply with international Atomic Energy Agency standards.
