Cairo – El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Egypt’s pioneering nuclear facility, is one step closer to launch following the installation of the core catcher for Unit 4.
The core catcher is a part of the passive safety system, designed to prevent the release of radioactive substances into the environment in the event of a severe accident accompanied by the destruction of the reactor vessel.
It consists of several elements, with a total weight exceeding 700 tons, including the core catcher body, which weighs 155 tons.
The general designer and general contractor of the NPP is the Rosatom Engineering Division.
“It is symbolic that we are beginning the installation of the core catcher at Unit 4 on Nuclear Energy Day celebrated in Egypt on November 19,” said Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom.
“Works for construction of all the four units of the first nuclear power plant in Egypt are in full swing with observance of all the international requirements.
“In each of its projects, Rosatom puts safety above all, and the Egyptian construction site is no exception for us.”
El-Dabaa will consist of four power units, 1200 MW each, with pressurised water reactors of Russian class VVER-1200.
This is an evolutionary Gen III+ design that fully complies with all international safety requirements.
Earlier this August the core catcher was delivered to the construction site of the Paks-II NPP (Hungary) new power units.
Egypt Electricity and Renewable Energy Minister Mahmoud Esmat said the El-Dabaa NPP project was under constant supervision and the work was on schedule to complete all stages and connect it to the grid.
He explained the energy sector’s strategy, which focuses on energy balance, diversifying power generation sources, and utilising new, renewable, and clean energy sources to decrease fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions.
Mahmoud Esmat asserted the importance of the peaceful use of nuclear energy as an essential component of a sustainable development strategy and achieving our goals across various sectors, especially in electricity generation.
El-Dabaa NPP is the first NPP in Egypt.
It is being built in the city of El-Dabaa, in the Matrouh province on the Mediterranean coast, approximately 300 km northwest of Cairo.
Under the contractual obligations, the Russian party will not only construct the NPP, but will also supply nuclear fuel for the whole life cycle of the plant and assist the Egyptian partners in training the personnel at the operation.
The Russian party will also perform maintenance work at El-Dabaa NPP during the first 10 years of the plant’s operation.
Under a separate agreement, the Russian party will build special storage and supply special containers for storing spent nuclear fuel.
