On 25 February 2021, a joint Egyptian – Russian delegation headed by the Nuclear Power Plants Authority in its capacity as the Owner and the Operator of the first Egyptian nuclear power plant, and leaders of Rosatom State Atomic Corporation, conducted a field visit to the construction site of the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant in order to oversee the latest developments of the progress in the Project implementation.
ROSATOM’s delegation was headed by Dr. Gennady Sakharov, Director for Capital Investments CAPEX; Supervision; and Statutory Expert, and Assessment Director of State Corporation Rosatom. The Russian delegation also comprised representatives of Joint-Stock Company Atomstroyexport (JSC ASE), the general contractor for the Project and ROSATOM’s Engineering Division, including Dr. Grigory Sosnin, Vice-President of JSC ASE – Director of El-Dabaa NPP Project, Mr. Nikolay Vikhansky, Vice-President for Capital Construction, and Mr. Anatoly Kovtunov, Director of NPP Construction in Egypt, Director of the JSC ASE Branch in the Arab Republic of Egypt.
On behalf of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority's, the Egyptian delegation, was headed by Eng. Mohamed Ramadan, the Vice Board Chairman for Operation and Maintenance, and Dr. Mohamed Dwiddar, the Project Manager of the El-Dabaa NPP Project.
Dr. Grigory Sosnin, Vice – President and Director of El-Dabaa NPP Project, stated that: “During the visit, we examined the progress of the construction works at the El-Dabaa site and a meeting was held with the Egyptian Party”. Dr. Sosnin further stated that “the technology of the Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors chosen for Egypt’s nuclear power plant enables us to confidently ascertain that the plant will be one of the safest and most technologically advanced nuclear power plants not only in the African continent, but also worldwide. Upon commissioning, the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant will become the first plant in the African continent to be equipped with Generation III+ reactors and it will significantly contribute to reducing CO2 emissions.”
The delegation was briefed on the status of ongoing construction works and the implementation of the procurement and supplying schedules, in addition to general information about the potential Egyptian subcontractors.
Members of the Russian – Egyptian delegation also visited the residential complex established for the Russian personnel working at the site, in addition to the ancillary buildings and the utility buildings which meet the living requirements of Russian experts and personnel involved in the Project. The delegation also visited the construction site to inspect the progress of the implementation of works and investigate their compliance with the planned time schedule.
To conclude the visit, the delegation also visited the location of the meteorological tower, and the docking facility in the El-Dabaa site which is under construction by the Owner and is meant to serve the planned transportation of the heavy equipment for the Nuclear Power Plant.
The officials expressed their confidence in the progress of the implementation of the works in the Project and that the Project will witness a significant breakthrough this year. Russian officials also expressed their deep appreciation for the Nuclear Power Plants Authority’s efforts in implementing the Project and for the support it provides.
Communications Division
Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division
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The El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant will be the first nuclear power plant in Egypt. It will be built in El-Dabaa city in the Governorate of Matrouh on the coastlines of the Mediterranean Sea.
The El-Dabaa NPP will comprise four units each of them has a capacity of 1200 MW, equipped with a Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactor, considered to be the latest technology for nuclear power plants and which has already been successfully implemented in two other countries. There are four units operating in Russia equipped with Generation III+ reactors, two of them are at at Leningrad nuclear power plant and the other at Novovoronezh nuclear power plant. Outside of Russia, one VVER-1200 reactor equipped power unit at Belarus nuclear power plant was connected to the grid in November 2020.
The construction of the Nuclear Power Plant is being carried out in accordance with the suite of contracts that entered into force on 11 December 2017. According to the underlying contractual obligations, the Russian Party will not only build the nuclear power plant, but will also supply nuclear fuel throughout the lifecycle of the Nuclear Power Plant. The Russian Party will also arrange for the training of the Egyptian personnel and will assist the Egyptian Party in the operation and maintenance of the Nuclear Power Plant for the first 10 years of its operation. In addition, the Russian Party will build a storage facility for storing spent nuclear fuel.