Putin and Sisi started the construction of the fourth unit of the NPP in Egypt

Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdul Fattah al-Sisi started the construction of the fourth power unit of the first nuclear power plant in Egypt. This is reported by RIA Novosti.

The project, implemented by the Russian state corporation "Rosatom" on the basis of a loan provided by the Russian Federation, envisages the construction of all four nuclear power units at the same time.

"Ad Dabaa" station is located in the Matruh region on the Mediterranean coast, the construction of the first power unit began in July 2022, the second - in November, and the third in May 2023.

History of NPP construction in Egypt

In 1981, the Egyptian government signed an agreement with France to build a nuclear power plant. The need for its construction was related to the shortage of energy resources in Egypt - the lack of natural gas and oil was a serious problem for a country with a population of 45 million (now - 110.5 million). The French company "Framatom" (now "Areva") conducted relevant research and the city of Ed-Daba (300 km north-west of Cairo), located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, was chosen for the future station. However, this project was not implemented.

In 2007, Egypt returned to the idea of building a nuclear power plant. US, French, Japanese, South Korean and Chinese companies, as well as the Russian state corporation "Rosatom" expressed their desire to participate in the project. The international tender was hindered first by technical difficulties, then by the revolution that started in Egypt in 2011 and the political instability that followed.

Cooperation with Russia

After Abdul Fattah al-Sisi came to power in 2014, it was decided to return to the project. During the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Cairo in February 2015, the parties signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of the NPP.