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License on NPP construction in Egypt may be granted in 1H 2022

The El Dabaa nuclear power plant will be the first nuclear power plant in the country

CAIRO, July 1. /TASS/. Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom may be granted the license on construction of two units of the first nuclear power plant in Egypt in El-Dabaa on the coastlines of the Mediterranean Sea in the first half of 2022, the Egyptian Electricity and Renewable Energy Ministry’s spokesman Ayman Hamza told TASS on Thursday.

"It is expected that the permit on construction of first two units will be granted in the first half of next year," he said, adding that it will be "followed by procedures on drafting documents for Units 3 and 4".

Rosatom said earlier on Thursday that the Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) of Egypt handed over the licensing documentation for Units 1 and 2 of El Dabaa NPP construction to the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulation Authority (ENRRA). This marked an important milestone in the implementation of El Dabaa NPP project in the path forward to issue the construction permit for first two units, the corporation noted, adding that once the permit is obtained parties will be able to start full-scale construction.

The El Dabaa nuclear power plant will be the first nuclear power plant in Egypt. It will be built in El-Dabaa city in the Governorate of Matrouh on the coastlines of the Mediterranean Sea. The El Dabaa NPP will comprise four units, with each of them having a capacity of 1200 MW, equipped with a Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactor, considered to be the latest technology for nuclear power plants, which has already been successfully implemented.

Russia and Egypt signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant totally worth $30 bln in November 2015 in Cairo. The parties also signed an agreement to provide Egypt with a state export loan of $25 billion for the construction of the nuclear power plant, which will cover 85% of the works. The remaining expenses should be covered by the Egyptian side by attracting private investors.

It is planned to implement the project in 12 years. Egypt is to start payments on the loan, which was provided at 3% per annum, in October 2029.

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