Cairo, Moscow sign contract for Egypt’s first nuclear plant

CAIRO

Egypt and Russia signed a final contract on Dec. 11 for the building of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, during a visit to Cairo by President Vladimir Putin.

The contract to build the plant in Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast was signed during a live ceremony shown on state television and attended by the Russian leader and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, as reported by AFP.

The contract was signed by the head of Russian state nuclear company Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, and Egypt’s electricity and renewable energy minister, Mohamed Shaker.

Egyptian media reports put the cost of the plant at around $30 billion.

The two countries signed two agreements in November 2015 for Russia to finance and build the power plant, with four 1,200 megawatt reactors, in Dabaa.

Earlier, the intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant in Egypt and four contracts for the construction of the NPP, the supply of nuclear fuel for the entire period of its operation, a maintenance contract and a contract for the processing of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) were signed.

Russia ‘ready to sign deal on flights to Egypt’

Meanwhile, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told reporters on Dec. 11 that Russia is ready to sign a protocol with Egypt on the resumption of direct flights between Moscow and Cairo this week.

Flights could be resumed between Moscow and Cairo in early February, Sokolov said, on routes operated by EgyptAir and Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot.