Russia supplying for Generation III+ units for project
The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for Unit 1 of Egypt’s El Dabaa nuclear power station has been delivered to the construction site following a 20-day sea voyage from St. Petersburg, Russia, the project developer, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, said.
A statement said the 330-tonne component, manufactured by Izhora plants in St. Petersburg, is a key element of the reactor system. The RPV is a vessel containing the nuclear reactor coolant, core shroud, and the reactor core and fuel.
Rosatom said installation of the RPV is scheduled to begin mid-November.
El Dabaa, Egypt’s first commercial nuclear station, will have four Russian VVER-1200 PWR units, with the first unit expected to be online in 2026.
Construction of El Dabaa-1 began in July 2022.
El Dabaa, on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast, is the country’s first commercial nuclear power plant. It will consist of four Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactor units, each with an electrical capacity of 1,200 MW.
Under agreements signed in 2015 and 2017, Rosatom is responsible for buidling the station, supplying nuclear fuel throughout its lifetime, and assisting in training Egyptian operating personnel during the first ten years of operation. Rosatom will also build facilities and provide containers for the storage of spent nuclear fuel.
According to earlier reports, Moscow had agreed to lend Cairo $25bn (€21.4bn) for the construction of El Dabaa, which would constitute about 85% of the total cost of the project.
