Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker submitted a detailed report to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on the most recent financial and legal negotiations with the Russian company Rosatom about the Dabaa nuclear power plant.
Official sources said that the Russian company will complete reviewing the site’s data in the next month as a prelude to signing the commercial contract of establishing the nuclear power plant in December.
Shaker announced during his meeting with Al-Sisi on Monday that the contract of the Dabaa plant will be signed before the end of this year.
The sources added that all the financial and legal items, which were subject to discussions throughout the past two months, have finally been agreed on with Russia, and that a final draft for some suspended items in the contracts has been concluded.
The commercial contract of establishing, supplying, and operating the Dabaa nuclear power plant includes four agreements, namely the major establishment, the supply of fuel to the plant, the provision of experience and technical support during operations, and establishing storage for the spent fuel.
Technical consultant of the Dabaa nuclear project, Yassin Ibrahim, said that Rosatom will begin to conduct the detailed designs of the plant after signing the contract with the government to submit them to the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority. This will ensure the safety and quality of the plant and consequently, the company would obtain the approval to begin the execution of the plant. Obtaining the approval will take two years.
He added that the company will not wait for two years without starting any work on the site, but will begin digging, leveling, and administrative preparations until it obtains the approval. Moreover, Rosatom will begin to negotiate with a number of Egyptian companies to participate in the civil works of the project.
The Nuclear Power Plants Authority presented a list of 20 companies specialised in civil works and electric cables to Rosatom to participate in providing the local component of the project. The list includes Elsewedy Electric, Hassan Allam, Petrojet, and the Arab Contractors.
Russia will present a governmental loan of $25bn to Egypt to finance the Dabaa nuclear power plant. The loan will be used to finance 85% of the value of each of the four contracts mentioned above. The loan repayment period is 13 years—from 2016 to 2028—with an annual interest rate of 3%.
