Minister of Electricity Mohamed Shaker will present a report to Al-Sisi regarding the outcomes of the meeting with the Russian company Rosatom to sign the Dabaa nuclear power plant contracts.
Government sources said that the negotiations with Russia are about to be completed within weeks, especially since a governmental committee held intensive discussions and meetings with Russian officials during the past two weeks and agreed upon the final form to complete the contract.
The sources indicated that the ongoing discussions include the supply of nuclear fuel to nuclear power generation units, obligations of each party during operations, maintenance and units repair, reprocessing method of the wasted/consumed nuclear fuel and how to deal with it, provision of expertise and technical support during the operation, and helping Egypt in improving standards and legislation of the nuclear energy and infrastructure sector.
The sources said that Shaker will present the report to Al-Sisi before the societal dialogue, planned to be held in the city of Dabaa on 25 February. The president is following up with all the negotiating details with Russia to reach the best agreement that would benefit Egypt.
The government agreed with the Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation on the establishment of a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 4,800MW. The agreement included the signing of four contracts for the engineering, supply, operation, and maintenance of the power plant for a period of 10 years. It also includes the supply of fuel for 60 years.
Russia will provide a state loan to Egypt worth $25bn for the financing of the construction and operation of the nuclear power plant in Dabaa.
The loan will finance 85% of the value of each contract to implement works and services of the project, while the rest will be financed locally. The Russian loan has a repayment period of 13 years, with an annual interest rate of 3%.
Dr. Ayman Hamza, spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity, said that Mohamed Shaker will participate in the popular conference of the Dabaa nuclear power plant scheduled to be held on 25 February. The minister is expected to brief the advantages of the peaceful nuclear station and its employment opportunities for the residents of Matrouh.
Yassin Ibrahim, technical adviser of the Dabaa project, said that Rosatom will begin conducting the detailed design of the plant after signing the contract with the government. The company will submit these designs to the Nuclear and Radiological Supervisory Board in Egypt and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) to ensure the safety of the plant, so as to get the approval for the implementation of the station. The approval process will take a period of two years.
