Egypt to Start Building 1st Nuclear Reactor this Year

Site of the Nuclear Plant (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Site of the Nuclear Plant (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt to Start Building 1st Nuclear Reactor this Year

Site of the Nuclear Plant (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Site of the Nuclear Plant (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Egypt plans to start constructing the first power unit at El-Dabaa nuclear power plant in July of this year, Rosatom Group CEO Alexey Likhachev announced on Tuesday.

Cairo “wants to do everything so that the first concrete is poured in the summer, around July," Likhachev said, according to Russian news agencies, Sputnik and Russia Today.

Chairman of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority of Egypt (NPPA) Dr. Amgad Al-Wakeel revealed Monday that the green light to establish the first and second units is expected to be issued in the second half of 2022, after presenting all the necessary documents to obtain a construction permit and handing them over to the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Control Authority.

Speaking on the sidelines of Expo Dubai, he said El-Dabaa NPP belongs to the advanced third generation (Gen-3+) reactor technology, which is the most advanced technology to date that is characterized with the highest safety levels.

He said such reactors follow the “defense in depth” philosophy, which is based on the use of multiple physical barriers to prevent leaks of radioactive materials into the environment, as well as on employing passive safety systems that do not need power source to be actuated.

The reactor could withstand commercial aircrafts crash, tsunami waves, earthquakes and tornadoes, Al-Wakeel noted, adding that the project would develop the Egyptian industry, even of non-nuclear components, by increasing local participation to 35 percent for the fourth unit.

In previous comments, Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohammed Shaker, confirmed that the first unit of El-Dabaa nuclear power plant is expected to be completed by 2026.

Last December, Al-Wakeel said the authority is committed to the timetable for implementing its nuclear program to generate electricity with a capacity of 4,800 megawatts in El-Dabaa, pointing out that the reactors will be operated at full capacity in 2030.

Egypt and Rosatom had signed on December 11, 2017, several documents to put into force the commercial contracts for the construction of the El-Dabaa plant.

According to the contracts, Rosatom will not only build El-Dabaa NPP on the Mediterranean coast, but it will also conduct personnel training and will assist its Egyptian partners in the operation and maintenance of the plant for the first ten years of its operation.



US to Deploy B-52s, Warships to Middle East as Aircraft Carrier Departs

Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Patrick Ryder speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024 in Washington. (AP)
Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Patrick Ryder speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024 in Washington. (AP)
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US to Deploy B-52s, Warships to Middle East as Aircraft Carrier Departs

Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Patrick Ryder speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024 in Washington. (AP)
Pentagon Press Secretary Major General Patrick Ryder speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024 in Washington. (AP)

The United States said on Friday it will deploy B-52 bombers, fighter jets, refueling aircraft and Navy destroyers to the Middle East, in a readjustment of military assets as the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group prepares to leave the region.

The Pentagon said in a statement that deployments would take place in the coming months and demonstrated the flexibility of the US military movements around the world.

"Should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people," Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement.

The United States has had as many as two aircraft carriers in the Middle East during the past year of soaring tensions since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Oct. 2023.

The Lincoln's withdrawal will create an aircraft carrier gap until another is cycled into the Middle East.

The latest adjustment in US forces in the region follows direct exchanges of fire in October between Israel and Iran. Israel is also fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and has carried out strikes in Yemen after coming under attack from Iran-aligned Houthi militias.

The United States has pledged to help defend Israel against attack and to safeguard U.S. forces in the Middle East, who have been attacked by Iran-backed groups in Syria, Iraq, Jordan and off the coast of Yemen.