Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi and the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, have discussed the implementation and safety of a project to build Egypt's first nuclear power plant (NPP) in Dabaa with Moscow's participation, Sisi's press service said on Monday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th February, 2019) Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi and the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, have discussed the implementation and safety of a project to build Egypt's first nuclear power plant (NPP) in Dabaa with Moscow's participation, Sisi's press service said on Monday.
"The president pointed to Egypt's desire to maximize the benefits of the peaceful use of atomic energy for the Dabaa nuclear power plant project ... Sisi said that Egypt intends to implement the project using the most advanced international standards in the field of atomic safety and wants to cooperate with IAEA experts in training of the staff for the launch and maintenance of the NPP," the press service said.
In late January, a delegation of five IAEA experts visited Egypt and discussed with local authorities the implementation and safety of Dabaa NPP project and further Cairo's plans to develop peaceful nuclear energy. Ayman Hamzah, a spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, told Sputnik that this visit was an important preparatory step toward receiving the necessary technical licenses to start the construction of the NPP.
The IAEA delegation also discussed the documentation related to approving of the site for the construction of the NPP from the point of view of its safety for the environment and compliance with international requirements. According to Abou Bakr Ramadan, the deputy head of the national department of nuclear and radiation safety, the inspection showed that the site in Dabaa is completely suitable for the construction of the NPP.
In December 2017, the regulations to bring into force the commercial contract for the Dabaa NPP construction were signed in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart. The total contract value amounted to about $60 billion, which became an all-time record for the industry. The NPP will have four Russian-developed VVER-1200 nuclear reactors, each of which with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts. The first power unit of the NPP is expected to be put into operation in 2026.
