Presidents launch nuclear power station unit

Putin and el-Sisi met via videoconference for a concrete pouring ceremony at El-Dabaa NPP

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi gave permission, by videoconference, to begin pouring concrete into the base of the fourth power unit of the Egyptian El-Dabaa nuclear power plant (NNP), which was built on the Mediterranean coast with the support of the Russian state corporation Rosatom.

In October, Putin remarked that the construction of the fourth unit by Russian specialists was progressing ahead of schedule. At the ceremony on Tuesday, the Egyptian president acknowledged the same, saying “the construction of the project is progressing faster than originally agreed.”

Also during the video ceremony, Putin noted how cooperation with Egypt had developed, having previously named it a strategic partner. 

According to Putin, Egypt’s accession to BRICS+ is opening up promising new opportunities for building a fruitful relationship.

“During Russia’s BRICS presidency this year, we will try to do our best to ensure that Egypt is effectively integrated into the work of the association. We are planning more than 200 BRICS events, and we expect Egyptian representatives to take a very active part in them,” the Russian president declared.

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El-Dabaa NPP is Rosatom’s first major nuclear power project in Africa. The four-reactor facility is located about 300km (186 miles) northwest of Cairo, on the Mediterranean coast.

Since 2015, Russian State Corporation Rosatom has been working on the construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant under a Russian-Egyptian intergovernmental agreement. The plan includes the construction of four power units that can generate a total of 4800 megawatts.

Construction of the first and second power units began in 2022 and the third in May 2023. 

According to Rosatom, the NPP will provide electricity to approximately 20 million Egyptians.

As per a bilateral agreement signed in 2015, the cost of the nuclear power plant is $28.75 billion, with Russia financing approximately 85% of it and Egypt paying for it through a 22-year loan with an interest rate of 3%.