Egypt Seeking to Construct More Nuclear Power Plants

A view of the panel discussion held in Cairo on Monday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view of the panel discussion held in Cairo on Monday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt Seeking to Construct More Nuclear Power Plants

A view of the panel discussion held in Cairo on Monday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
A view of the panel discussion held in Cairo on Monday. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

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.



US Job Growth Surges in September, Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.1%

A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
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US Job Growth Surges in September, Unemployment Rate Falls to 4.1%

A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
A woman enters a store next to a sign advertising job openings at Times Square in New York City, New York, US, August 6, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

US job growth accelerated in September and the unemployment slipped to 4.1%, further reducing the need for the Federal Reserve to maintain large interest rate cuts at its remaining two meetings this year.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 254,000 jobs last month after rising by an upwardly revised 159,000 in August, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls rising by 140,000 positions after advancing by a previously reported 142,000 in August.
The initial payrolls count for August has typically been revised higher over the past decade. Estimates for September's job gains ranged from 70,000 to 220,000.
The US labor market slowdown is being driven by tepid hiring against the backdrop of increased labor supply stemming mostly from a rise in immigration. Layoffs have remained low, which is underpinning the economy through solid consumer spending.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% after gaining 0.5% in August. Wages increased 4% year-on-year after climbing 3.9% in August.
The US unemployment rate dropped from 4.2% in August. It has jumped from 3.4% in April 2023, in part boosted by the 16-24 age cohort and rise in temporary layoffs during the annual automobile plant shutdowns in July.
The US Federal Reserve's policy setting committee kicked off its policy easing cycle with an unusually large half-percentage-point rate cut last month and Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized growing concerns over the health of the labor market.
While the labor market has taken a step back, annual benchmark revisions to national accounts data last week showed the economy in a much better shape than previously estimated, with upgrades to growth, income, savings and corporate profits.
This improved economic backdrop was acknowledged by Powell this week when he pushed back against investors' expectations for another half-percentage-point rate cut in November, saying “this is not a committee that feels like it is in a hurry to cut rates quickly.”
The Fed hiked rates by 525 basis points in 2022 and 2023, and delivered its first rate cut since 2020 last month. Its policy rate is currently set in the 4.75%-5.00% band.
Early on Friday, financial markets saw a roughly 71.5% chance of a quarter-point rate reduction in November, CME's FedWatch tool showed. The odds of a 50 basis points cut were around 28.5%.