Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom may construct a large-capacity seawater-desalination plant as well as two additonal reactors at the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Egypt,the Russian state nuclear corporation’s CEO, Alexey Likhachev, said on Tuesday.
“We are now at a very practical stage of discussing the timeline, financial matters and organizational model of this project. One option would have this desalination facility, which would serve not only the plant but the entire surrounding area, built on the grounds of the El Dabaa NPP,” Likhachev told reporters after a meeting with Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, who was on a visit to the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod on August 25.
“A very large section of the coastal territory has been allocated within the plant’s perimeter, allowing the implementation of a large-scale project there, including desalination-related facilities,” Likhachev said.
Also under discussion was the construction of two additional reactors at the El Dabaa NPP. “We are beginning discussions on the second phase of a possible expansion of the plant by a further two units, and we are already discussing the financial and economic model for the fifth and sixth units today. If we reach a common position and a mutual understanding, we will report this to the leadership of our countries—to Mr [Egyptian President Abdel Fattah] El-Sisi and the Egyptian government—and we will report it, accordingly, to the leadership of the Russian Federation,” said Likhachev, as reported by TASS.
The El Dabaa NPP includes four Russian-built VVER-1200 reactors of the 3+ generation, with a total installed capacity of nearly 4,800 megawatts.
