A dozen Egyptian and
Russian officials celebrated on Saturday the beginning of the construction of
the second nuclear reactor at the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (DNPP).
Mohamed Shaker, Egypt's minister of electricity, and Alexey Likhachov, Director-General of Rosatom, the Russian state-owned nuclear engineering company in charge of building the plant, attended the celebration, giving the green light for laying down the first concrete foundation works for El-Dabaa 2, according to an official statement.
The contracts between Egypt and Russia for building the DNPP's four nuclear reactors were signed during a visit paid by Russia's President Vladimir Putin to Cairo in the summer of 2015, and they entered into force in December 2017.
“We are keen that the construction works go according to schedule and without any delays. I would like to state that the Egyptian-Russian team that is in charge of implementing the Dabaa project has shown the highest levels of professionalism and so it is expected that we finalize this project long ahead of schedule,” Shaker said.
Rosatom's Director-General Alexey Likhachov said, “the launch of construction at El-Dabaa means that Egypt has already joined the nuclear club. This is the largest example of Russian-Egyptian cooperation since the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s.”
“Let me also emphasize that the El-Dabaa project is set to have an important impact on Egypt's social and economic life and will also help Egypt gradually move to low-carbon sources of energy and pave the way for sustainable development in the future,” he concluded.
An official statement said a number of Egyptian cabinet ministers, high-ranking state officials, and directors-general of several Russian nuclear power stations and Rosatom company joined the celebration.
