Four Russia-supplied reactors under construction at Mediterranean site
Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) has secured a permit to build a spent nuclear fuel storage facility at the El Dabaa nuclear power station, about 300 km northwest of Cairo on the country’s Mediterranean coast.
The NPPA said it plans to begin the construction of the facility this year. It said the facility will provide safe, dry, and scientifically advanced containment for spent nuclear fuel, with the capacity to store waste for up to 100 years.
The NPPA submitted the construction permit request to Egypt’s Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (NRRA) in June 2024.
The decision came after a successful site inspection by NRRA representatives, who visited El Dabaa from 1 December to 5 December 2024 to assess the site’s readiness for construction.
El Dabaa, Egypt’s first nuclear station, will have four Russia-supplied Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors, with the first unit expected to be online in 2026.
In January 2024, Russia and Egypt began construction of El Dabaa-4, the fourth and final reactor unit at the station.
Arab News said the El Dabaa nuclear project, which has been in the planning stages since 1954, received formal approval in 1983 and was publicly announced in 2007.
Following approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2010, Egypt finalised agreements with Russia in 2015. Contracts came into effect in December 2017, and construction officially began in July 2022.
