The construction site of El Dabaa NPP in the Arab Republic of Egypt (general designer and general contractor - engineering division of Rosatom State Corporation) hosted a ceremony dedicated to the pouring of the "first concrete" into the foundation slab of power unit No. 4.
This historic event marks the start of the main phase of unit construction, making the four-unit El Dabaa nuclear power plant the largest nuclear construction project on the African continent.
The ceremony was attended by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi via videoconference.
The event was attended by Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly, Alexei Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom State Corporation, Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy of Egypt, Dr Amged El-Wakil, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Egyptian Nuclear Power Authority, and other officials.
Alexey Likhachev, Head of Rosatom, addressing the guests of the ceremony, said:
"Today is a landmark event in the history of Egypt's nuclear power industry and Russian-Egyptian relations.
With the pouring of the first concrete into the foundation slab of power unit No. 4, the largest co-operation project between our countries since the construction of the Aswan Dam - the construction of the first Egyptian nuclear power plant - is unfolding at full capacity.
Now all four power units of El Dabaa NPP are under construction. This means that our Egyptian site is becoming one of the two largest nuclear construction projects in the world.
Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy of Egypt, emphasised that today's event is evidence of fruitful cooperation between Russian and Egyptian specialists.
The Minister noted that the pouring of concrete on Block 4 is the result of the support provided by the political leadership of both Egypt and Russia, as well as the round-the-clock hard work and dedication of the project teams on both sides.
El Dabaa NPP - Egypt's first nuclear power plant to be built in the town of El Dabaa in Matrouh governorate on the Mediterranean coast, about 300 kilometres northwest of Cairo.
The NPP will consist of four power units with a capacity of 1200 MW(e) each with reactors of VVER-1200 type (water-water power reactor) of generation III+.
The NPP is being built in accordance with a package of contracts that entered into force on 11 December 2017.
Under the contractual obligations, the Russian side will not only build the plant, but will also supply Russian nuclear fuel for the entire life cycle of the nuclear power plant, as well as assist the Egyptian partners in personnel training and support in the operation and maintenance of the plant during the first 10 years of its operation.
Under another agreement, the Russian side will build a special storage facility and supply containers for storing spent nuclear fuel.