The Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (ENRRA) has issued a permit for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant.
This permit, along with excavation works at site, is a prerequisite for the start of the main stage of construction of the El-Dabaa NPP Unit 1, to be built in the city of El Dabaa on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, 300 km North-West of Cairo.
Rosatom, the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation, says it will “build a reliable state-of-the-art NPP with reactors based on the Russian VVER-1200 (pressurized water reactor) design of the innovative Generation III+, which meets the world’s highest safety standards, and is successfully operated in Russia”.
ENRRA says that the El-Dabaa NPP “will be the first nuclear power plant of this generation on the African continent”.
It will not be the first nuclear power plant on the continent, though. That credit goes to to the Koeberg Nuclear reactor, one of two nucear power plants in South Africa, with combined generation capacity of 1,800MW.
ENRRA says the NPP will consist of four power units, 1,200 MW each. Rosatom says that “four power units with reactors of this generation are operated in Russia: Novovoronezh and Leningrad NPP sites have two reactors each. Outside Russia, one power unit of Belarus NPP with VVER-1200 reactor was connected to the grid in November 2020”.
The NPP is being constructed in accordance with the package of contracts which entered into force on December 11, 2017. In accordance with the contractual obligations, the Russian party will not only construct the power plant but will also supply nuclear fuel for the whole life cycle of the NPP and will provide assistance to the Egyptian partners in training of the personnel and support of operation and service during the first 10 years of its operation. Under a separate agreement, the Russian party will build a special storage and will supply containers for storing spent nuclear fuel.
