Sisi realised Egypt’s decades-old nuclear dream – PM
Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said on Thursday that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi had fulfilled Egypt’s decades-old ambition to build its first civilian nuclear power plant, as the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant reached another major construction milestone.
Speaking at the installation ceremony of the reactor pressure vessel for the plant’s second nuclear unit, Madbouly said the project had transformed a long-standing national aspiration into reality.
“President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the leader who turned that dream into reality,” Madbouly said, referring to Egypt’s long-standing plans to establish a peaceful nuclear power programme.
The ceremony was attended by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat, Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) Chairman Sherif Helmy, Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev, and senior Egyptian and Russian officials.
Madbouly said installing the reactor pressure vessel for Unit 2 marked another significant step towards completing one of Egypt’s largest strategic energy projects, following the installation of the same component for Unit 1 late last year.
He said the project had been made possible by the 2015 intergovernmental agreement between Egypt and Russia, which paved the way for construction to begin after decades of planning.
Madbouly said nuclear energy would play a key role in diversifying Egypt’s electricity generation mix, strengthening energy security, and supporting the country’s sustainable development goals.
“Nuclear energy provides a stable, reliable, and clean source of electricity while supporting Egypt’s sustainable development objectives,” he said.
The prime minister said the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant would strengthen Egypt’s position as a regional energy hub while contributing to economic growth and reducing carbon emissions.
He also praised Egyptian and Russian engineers, technicians, and workers involved in the project, saying the successive construction milestones reflected the close strategic partnership between Cairo and Moscow.
Located on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast in Matrouh Governorate, the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant will encompass four Russian-designed Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, giving the facility a total installed capacity of 4,800 MW once fully operational.
Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English