AfrElec: Egypt issues permit to Russia’s ROSATOM to build first ever nuclear power plant

Egypt’s Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority has issued a permit to Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) to construct the first reactor unit at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant (NPP)

In November 2015, the Egyptian government signed an agreement with Russia to build Egypt’s first NPP in El-Dabaa region of Marsa Matrouh, which aims to generate a total of 4,800 MW of electricity through four VVER-1,200 reactor units, with the first unit scheduled to be operational in 2026.

The initiation of works on the NPPs marks a significant step forward for both countries. For Egypt, it will catapult the country belatedly into the nuclear age, making a momentous contribution to the country’s energy mix. Egypt traditionally relied on oil and gas fuelled power plants as well as renewable power sources to generate its electricity needs. For the Russian side, setting up a new-generation NPP on the African continent is a remarkable milestone, opening up potentially other export opportunities for the country’s nuclear industry on the continent.