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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)
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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.

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Arab World

Israeli Army Reaches Outskirts of Litani River in Southern Lebanon

An Israeli tank loaded onto a truck being transported to the border with southern Lebanon in the Upper Galilee (EPA)
An Israeli tank loaded onto a truck being transported to the border with southern Lebanon in the Upper Galilee (EPA)
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Israeli Army Reaches Outskirts of Litani River in Southern Lebanon

An Israeli tank loaded onto a truck being transported to the border with southern Lebanon in the Upper Galilee (EPA)
An Israeli tank loaded onto a truck being transported to the border with southern Lebanon in the Upper Galilee (EPA)

Israeli forces have launched their largest ground incursion into southern Lebanon since the conflict began, reaching the outskirts of the Litani River near Deirmimas.

They entered the town’s edges in an effort to separate Nabatieh from Marjayoun and prepare for an attack on the town of Taybeh from the west and north.

This move also aimed to neutralize Taybeh hill, which overlooks the Khiam plain, where Israel plans to extend its operations and capture the city of Khiam.

Lebanese media reported that Israel set up a checkpoint at the Deirmimas junction, cutting off Marjayoun from Nabatieh.

They also blocked the western entrance to Deirmimas near a fuel station using earth mounds, with Israeli military vehicles stationed there. Reports also said Israeli forces prevented UNIFIL and the Lebanese army from passing toward Marjayoun.

Lebanese sources following the battle in the south reported that Israeli forces advanced five kilometers west from the town of Kfar Kila, moving through olive groves. This advance took advantage of the absence of Hezbollah fighters in Christian areas like Qlayaa, Bir al-Muluk, and Deirmimas.

The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that this allowed Israeli forces to reach the outskirts of the Litani River for the first time since 2006, cutting off Nabatieh from Marjayoun. Israeli artillery had previously targeted this route several times, and drones had carried out strikes there.

Israel supported its ground advance with heavy artillery fire. Lebanese security sources said Israeli artillery targeted hills overlooking Deirmimas throughout Thursday night into Friday, hitting locations like Beaufort Castle, Arnoun, Yihmour, Wadi Zawtar, and Deir Siryan.

This fire typically provides cover for infantry advances. The sources also confirmed that Israeli ground movements were backed by airstrikes and drones for added security.

They speculated the advance followed a route from Kfar Kila through Tall al-Nahas and Bir al-Muluk toward Deirmimas, which is almost empty of residents and has no Hezbollah presence.

Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli forces in the area, with three statements confirming the targeting of Israeli positions and vehicles near Deirmimas.

Media reports mentioned multiple rocket strikes on Israeli targets in Khiam and near Tall al-Nahas, as well as a guided missile attack on Israeli movements near oil groves close to the Marqos station at Deirmimas’ edge.

A photo shared by Lebanese media showed an Israeli tank behind an exposed hill east of Qlayaa, protected from the west and north. To the south, Israeli forces entered the town of Deirmimas, which overlooks the position.

Military expert Mustafa Asaad said the image, showing a bulldozer behind a tank at the Qlayaa-Marjayoun-Deirmimas junction, suggests that infantry units secured the area—either on foot or in fast vehicles—before entering Deirmimas.

The town’s mayor confirmed to local media that Israeli forces made a “small incursion” into Deirmimas, advancing through olive groves from Kfar Kila.

Hezbollah has stated it does not have military positions in Christian or Druze areas in southern Lebanon, as these communities oppose its presence. Sources close to Hezbollah say this is due to political reasons and security concerns.