An Egyptian official declared Monday that the country plans to expand the construction of nuclear plants to generate electricity to meet the surging development in the country.
Head of Nuclear Fuel Sector at NPPA Hesham Hegazy said that Egypt intends to construct several nuclear plants in various regions. It already boasts the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant.
The country is seeking to increase dependency on nuclear energy to 8 percent by 2030, he said during a panel held by Rosatom under the title “The Role of Nuclear Energy in Sustainable Development”.
The Russian company is in charge of constructing El Dabaa plant.
The discussion was attended by the CEO of Rosatom Regional Center in the Middle East and Northern Africa region Alexander Voronkov, Rosatom Chief Sustainability Officer Polina Lion, Vice President of the ASE Group Dr. Gregory Sosnin, and Deputy Director of Nuclear Infrastructure Yulia Chernyakhovskaya.
El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant is one of the biggest infrastructure projects backing various economic sectors, Voronkov said.
The plant is a key driver of sustainable development and a source for labor and comprehensive development across the country, he added.
As for sustainable development, Lion said that the project would achieve at least six of the UN Sustainable Development Goals seeing as that the plant has a low carbon footprint and provides electricity at reasonable prices.
It further creates around 3,000 job opportunities and more than 10,000 indirect jobs, Lion estimated.
Sosnin stated that El Dabaa plant would positively impact industrial development in Egypt and increase the GDP.
