A ceremony dedicated to the “first concrete” pouring into the foundation slab of Power Unit 4 took place in the Arab Republic of Egypt, at El-Dabaa construction site (General Designer and General Contractor is Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division). This historic event signifies the beginning of the main stage of the power unit construction, thus making the four-unit El-Dabaa nuclear power plant the largest nuclear construction project on the African continent.
The videoconference ceremony was attended by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt. The site was attended by Moustafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister of Egypt, Alexey Likhachev, the Director General of the Rosatom State Corporation, Dr. Mohamed Shaker, the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy of Egypt, Dr. Amged El-Wakeel, Board Chairman of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority and other officials. The leaders of the two countries gave an emblematic permission to pour the “first concrete” into the foundation slab of the El-Dabaa NPP Power unit 4.
Addressing the attendees, Alexey Likhachev, Rosatom Leader pointed out: “We commemorate today a landmark event in the history of Egypt’s nuclear energy and Russian-Egyptian relations. The first concreting of the Power unit 4 foundation slab launches the largest bilateral cooperation project since the construction of the Aswan Dam, namely construction of the first Egyptian nuclear power plant. Now all four power units of the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant are under construction. This means that our Egypt site is becoming one of the two largest nuclear construction projects in the world.”
Dr. Mohamed Shaker, the Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, stated that, in advancement towards the ‘New Republic’ under the leadership of H.E. President El-Sisi, Egypt is rapidly exploring new horizons and achieving ambitious goals. Accomplishing the achievements to date is a testament to the fruitful cooperation fostered with Egypt’s partners from the Russian side. Dr. Shaker stressed that what the El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant was witnessing today was not a coincidence, but rather the result of the close involvement and support provided by the political leadership of both Egypt and Russia, as well as the round-the-clock hard work and dedication of the working groups from both sides. The Egyptian-Russian teams worked unrelentingly to achieve the project’s key milestones.
Rosatom is the global leader of nuclear technologies export. In particular, in 2023 the State Corporation produced five sets of reactor equipment; completed Belarusian NPP was taken over by the customer; a permission was received to commission power unit No. 1 of the Akkuyu NPP in Türkiye.
Reference
El-Dabaa NPP is the first nuclear power plant in Egypt which will be built in the city of El-Dabaa, Matrouh province, on the Mediterranean coast, approximately 300 km North-West of Cairo. The NPP will consist of four power units, 1200 MW each, with generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors (pressurized water reactors). This is the newest generation technology which has references and is already operating successfully. There are four operational power units of this generation: two reactors at Novovoronezh NPP and two at Leningrad NPP. Outside Russia, one power unit of Belarus NPP with VVER-1200 reactor was connected to the grid in November 2020.
The NPP is being constructed in accordance with the package of contracts which entered into force on December 11, 2017. In accordance with the contractual obligations, the Russian party will not only construct the power plant but will also supply nuclear fuel for the whole life cycle of the NPP and will provide assistance to the Egyptian partners in training of the personnel and support of operation and service of the plant during the first 10 years of its operation. Under a separate agreement, the Russian party will build a special storage and will supply containers for storing spent nuclear fuel.
Russia is consistently developing international trade and economic relations, focusing on cooperation with friendly countries. Despite external restrictions, the domestic economy is augmenting its export potential to supply goods, services and raw materials all over the world.
Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division unites the leading companies of the nuclear industry, namely: Atomstroyexport JSC (Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, branches in Russia and abroad), Joint Design Institute – Atomenergoproekt JSC (Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg branches – design institutes, branches in Russia and abroad, R&D branches) and subsidiary construction organizations.
The Engineering Division ranks first in the world by the order portfolio and the number of NPPs constructed simultaneously across the world. About 80% of the Division’s revenues originate from foreign projects.
The Engineering Division implements construction projects for high-power NPPs in Russia and across the world, renders a full range of EPC, EP, EPC(M) services including project management and design activities, and develops Multi-D technologies for the management of complex engineering facilities. The Division relies on the achievements of the Russian nuclear industry and innovative state-of-the-art technologies.
We construct reliable and safe NPPs with Gen III+ VVER reactors that are in line with all international requirements and recommendations. www.ase-ec.ru.
