On January 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi are attending a ceremony via videolink where the first batch of concrete will be poured into the foundation of the 4th power unit at the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).
This marks the end of the prep phase and the launch of the main stage of capital construction of all NPP units.
Here are some key facts regarding Egypt’s new nuclear marvel:
El-Dabaa is not just Egypt’s very first NPP, but the first one in North Africa as a whole;
El-Dabaa is being built in the city of El-Dabaa (Mediterranean coast), approximately 300 km North-West of Cairo;
The NPP will consist of four power units, 1200 MW each, with VVER-1200 reactors (pressurized water reactor) of generation III+;
Under the contract, Russia’s responsible for constructing the NPP, delivering nuclear fuel for its entire lifecycle, assisting in staff training, and supporting the NPP’s service for the first 10 years of its operation;
Russia will also build a special storage facility and deliver casks for storing spent nuclear fuel;
17,000 people are expected to work at the construction site by the end of 2024;
The number of the NPP staff will peak in 2025, reaching 32,000 workers;
Under labor localization agreements, Egyptian companies will carry out up to 30% of construction work (infrastructure and road building).