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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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Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Ankara: Assad Does Not Want Peace in Syria

Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Fidan addresses the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Parliament (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has stated that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is unwilling to pursue peace in Syria and warned that Israel’s efforts to spread war across the Middle East are undermining the environment fostered by the Astana Process.

Fidan emphasized the importance of Russian and Iranian efforts within the framework of the Astana Process to maintain calm on the ground, pointing to ongoing consultations with the US regarding the Syrian crisis.

Speaking during a parliamentary session discussing the 2025 budget of the Foreign Ministry, Fidan reiterated Türkiye’s expectation that the dialogue proposed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be approached strategically by the Syrian government, with priority given to the interests of the Syrian people.

Regarding Erdogan’s invitation to Assad for a meeting to discuss the normalization of ties between Ankara and Damascus, Fidan remarked that the matter depends on political will, stressing that the Turkish president has demonstrated his readiness at the highest level.

Last week, Erdogan reiterated the possibility of a meeting with Assad, but Russia, which mediates the normalization talks between Ankara and Damascus, ruled out such a meeting or high-level engagements in the near future.

Russian Presidential Envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev attributed the impasse to Türkiye’s refusal to meet Damascus’ demand for a withdrawal from northern Syria, accusing Ankara of acting as an “occupying state”.

Although Türkiye has not officially responded to Lavrentiev’s comments, which reflect a shift in Russia’s stance, Fidan stated in a televised interview last week that Russia remains “somewhat neutral” regarding the normalization process. He also urged the Syrian government to create conditions for the return of 10 million Syrian refugees.

Türkiye maintains that its military presence in northern Syria prevents the country’s division, blocks the establishment of a “terror corridor” along its southern border, and deters new waves of refugees from entering its territory.

Fidan outlined his country’s key objectives in Syria, which include eradicating terrorist groups (such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Syrian Democratic Forces), preserving Syria’s territorial unity, advancing the political process, and ensuring the safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, Turkish artillery targeted villages and positions controlled by the Manbij Military Council, affiliated with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), whose main component is the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

On Friday, fierce clashes erupted between the Syrian National Army factions and the SDF in western Tel Abyad, northern Raqqa. Simultaneously, Turkish artillery strikes reportedly killed two SDF members and injured others, with reports of captives and missing personnel.

In retaliation, the SDF shelled Turkish bases in the Ain Issa countryside. Turkish forces responded by deploying military reinforcements amid heightened alert at their bases in Raqqa’s countryside, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).