Egypt is writing a new history with realising Egyptians’ dream of having a nuclear power plant, keeping pace with major countries in the peaceful use of nuclear power. It is high time that Egypt have its first nuclear power station now that the global energy crisis is expected to grow more serious in the coming years amid rising oil prices result of instability and turmoil in some countries.
Moreover, nuclear energy for electricity and more desalination plants are means to diversify energy sources and gain flexibility in dealing with emergencies.
Successive economic crises and global energy shortages drive prices up to eye-watering levels, which prompted the decision to revive the nation’s nuclear programme with the building of el-Daba’a nuclear power station, which will supply safe, cheap energy long-term, thereby reducing dependence on fossil fuels and avert price fluctuations.
Including nuclear energy in the electricity production mix is vitally important to meet the increasing demand for electricity for economic and social development plans. Nuclear energy will also entail greater reliance on new and renewable energy sources while addressing climate change issues.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin witnessed via video conference last Tuesday the pouring of the first concrete for the foundation of the fourth and final unit of el-Daba’a nuclear power plant in Matrouh Governorate, northwestern Egypt.
The 4.8GW Daba’a plant is being built by Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom in collaboration with the Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) and is expected to be fully operational by 2030. Rosatom was contracted in 2015 to build the plant and provide it with fuel.
The project is a testament to the strong Egyptian-Russian co-operation and yet another milestone in 80 years of Egyptian-Russian co-operation, which started with building the High Dam in Aswan.
Egypt’s plan to go nuclear dates back to 1964 with the construction of a 150MW nuclear plant in Borg el-Arab, but the project was suspended in the aftermath of the 1967 War.
In 1973, Egypt decided to build a 600MW nuclear power plant at Sedi Karir, east of Alexandria. This was cancelled one year later, when the US imposed new conditions for implementing the project that were rejected by Egypt.
Mohamed Fahmy is the editor-in-chief
of The Egyptian Gazette and
Egyptian Mail newspapers
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