Russia inks deal to build Egypt’s 1st nuclear power plant

Cairo and Moscow signed an agreement Thursday under which Russia will build a nuclear power plant in Egypt, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced in comments on state television.

Sisi did not give any value or timeframe for the project but said it would involve the building of a third-generation power plant with four reactors. It is not clear where it will be built or how it will be paid for, but Sisi talked of a loan that would be repaid over 35 years, Reuters reported.

“The country’s balance sheet will not bear the cost of this loan, it will be covered by the production of electricity from the plant,” he said. “The goal of the signing is a message of hope, work and peace for us in Egypt and for the world.”

Meanwhile, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom announced Thursday signing an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant.

The deal was signed by Rosatom CEO Sergei Kirienko and Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker, Rosatom’s press service told RIA Novosti. The plant is expected to be constructed within 12 years.

It will consist of four nuclear power units, 1,200 megawatt (MW) each.

“It is the most important document fixing parameters of the first Egyptian nuclear power plant that will be built in compliance with the Russian technologies,” Kirienko stressed.

According to Rosatom CEO, the future nuclear power plant meets modern international safety requirements.

“The NPP in Dabaa will be the largest joint project between Russia and Egypt since the Aswan Dam was set up. This is truly a new page in the history of bilateral intergovernmental relations. The first nuclear power plant will make Egypt a regional technology leader and the only country in the region possessing NPP of the 3+ generation,” Kirienko added.

A group of Russian specialists has already arrived at the NPP construction site in the Egyptian town of Dabaa, the Rosatom head concluded.