A Russian official has unveiled his country’s plan to inaugurate a branch of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in Egypt, as part of the construction of the first Egyptian nuclear power plant in El-Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast.
Russian Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Konstantin Mogilevsky said on Monday that there is an initial decision to inaugurate a branch for the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI in Egypt, TASS reported.
The Russian official didn’t determine the inauguration date.
This would enable the training of the employees to work at the nuclear power station, he added.
Mogilevsky said there are plans to open representative offices for Russian universities in some African states and to implement joint education programs. Yet, he didn’t reveal the name of the countries.
The Russian Embassy in Cairo confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat Mogilevsky’s claims, but it didn’t provide further details.
El-Dabaa NPP will be constructed in the city of El-Dabaa, some 300 km northwest of Cairo.
The plant will comprise four units with generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurized water reactors.
The NPP is being constructed by Rosatom in accordance with contracts that entered into force in December 2017 based on an inter-governmental agreement signed by Egypt and Russia in 2015.
The cost of the project is $30 billion, 85 percent of which is financed through a $25 billion Russian loan.
The first reactor is expected to begin operations in 2024, according to the Egyptian presidency.
Rosatom laid in July the concrete foundations for the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant. Its construction was scheduled to start in 2020 but was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Egypt seeks to “diversify” power generating sources so that the electricity produced from nuclear stations reaches nine percent of the overall energy mix, official data showed.
Egypt and Russia cooperate in the training of researchers and students on peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
Egyptian Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Ayman Ashour held talks in September with the head of the international cooperation department of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia Dmitry Kamanin.
The talks focused on means to activate a cooperation agreement signed with Moscow on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
