Name of the Project
El-Dabaa nuclear power plant (NPP).

Location
El-Dabaa, in Egypt, on the Mediterranean coast.

Project Owner/s
The Ministry of Electricity and Energy, represented by the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA).

Project Description
El-Dabaa  will be the first nuclear power plant in Egypt. The project will involve the construction of an NPP comprising four Russian-designed VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors.

With a nameplate capacity of 4.8 GWe, the plant is expected to account for up to 50% of Egypt’s power-generation capacity to meet the country’s increasing demand for electricity.

Potential Job Creation
More than 20 000 people are working at the construction site.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start /End Date
Unit 1 started construction in July 2022 and Unit 2 in November 2022. Applications to build units 3 and 4 were submitted in January 2022. Unit 3 was awarded a construction licence in March 2023.

Egypt expects the plant to reach full capacity in 2030.

Latest Developments
The Tass news agency has reported that the State Duma has ratified the protocol to the agreement between Russia and Egypt for the provision of a $25-billion State export loan to build the El-Dabaa NPP.

The loan covers 85% of the cost of building the four-unit plant, and the ratification of the protocol facilitates "the settlement of debt obligations to the Russian Federation, as well as the development of further economic and scientific-technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Arab Republic of Egypt in the field of using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes", World Nuclear News reported the agency as saying.

Repayments of the export loan are scheduled to start upon commissioning of the plant and will be spread over two decades. 

The installation of the core catcher (also called a melt trap) in unit 4 at El-Dabaa has started.

The 6.1-m-diameter core catcher is a key bit of safety equipment for the VVER-1200 reactor – it is a container in the form of a cone made of thermally resistant steel, which, in the unlikely event of an emergency, will securely hold the melt of the core and not allow radioactive substances to leave the containment of the reactor.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Rosatom (pressurised water reactors); Atomenergomash and General Electric (turbine hall equipment); KHNP (construction of turbine islands); and Doosan Enerbility subcontractor – turbine islands).

Contact Details for Project Information
NNPA, tel +202 22616264 or email contact_us@nppa.gov.eg.