ED-DABAA (Egypt), January 23 Construction of the first In Egypt, the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant is proceeding at a faster pace than originally agreed, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said during a ceremony to begin pouring concrete into the base of power unit No. 4.
On Tuesday, al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking via videoconference, kicked off the construction of the power unit. The structure is being built with the participation of the Russian state corporation Rosatom.
“Construction of the project is proceeding at a faster pace than initially agreed,” al-Sisi said.
El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant is the first nuclear power plant in Egypt, which will be built in the city of El-Dabaa in the Matrouh province on the Mediterranean coast, about 300 kilometers northwest of the capital, Cairo. The nuclear power plant will consist of four power units with a capacity of 1200 MW each with reactors of the latest generation 3+ VVER-1200 (pressurized water reactor) type, meeting the most modern safety and efficiency requirements. The engineering division of the Rosatom state corporation is the general designer and general contractor for the construction of the El-Dabaa NPP. Construction of the first and second power units began in 2022, and construction of the third began in 2023.
The El Dabaa nuclear power plant will provide electricity to about 20 million Egyptians, Rosatom said last year on the eve of the Russia-Africa summit. According to Rosatom estimates, during the period of construction of the nuclear power plant alone, the added value to Egypt's GDP from the implementation of the project will be about $4 billion, which is about 1% of Egypt's GDP.