Page 89 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 13

Innovate Afrika

El Dabaa nuclear power plant will be built by Russian state -owned
company ROSATOM. Image credit: ROSATOM

reactor. The agreement was signed electricity.
by Anton Moskin, Vice President of World Energy Council member,
Rosatom and Simon Pesco Mallam, Maher Aziz, said that :
chairman of the Nigeria Atomic “With the completion of the Dabaa
Energy Commission (NAEC). nuclear power plant, Cairo can
stand on the edge of technological
Nigeria has been operating its first progress enjoyed by the developed
research reactor , a Chinese Minia- world”.
ture Neutron Source Reactor similar
to units operating in China, Ghana, Nuclear powered Egypt is the real-
Iran and Syria, at Ahmadu Bello ization of a dream of its founding
University, since 2004. father, Abdel Gamal Nasser who
initiated efforts back in 1954.
Geregu in Kogi State and Itu in Egypt`s transformation under the
Akwa Ibom State are being consid- presidency of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi,
ered as the sites for the first nuclear beginning with the construction
power facilities. These will produce of the New Suez Canal in 2014, is
4000MW of reliable base load. It covered in this highly comprehen-
is hoped that the facilities will be sive case study of Egypt titled `The
completed by 2025. African Infrastructure Renaissance
Along the Belt & Road—A Case
EGYPT Study` by Hussein Askary:

El Dabaa nuclear power plant will Nuclear power in Africa means so
be Egypt’s first nuclear power facil- much more than creating energy. It
ity. Construction will start in 2021 means more than powering every
and it will be operational by 2026. It household 24 hours a day, powering
is situated 300km from Cairo on the heavy manufacturing industry, the
Mediterranean where desalination creation of thousands of highly
plants will provide water for cooling. skilled jobs, a financial asset as ener-
Russia is financing the project with gy can be exported and sold; nuclear
the Egyptian government. Rosatom for Africa means putting African
will design and construct the facility. economies on an equal footing with
The agreement between Russia and the developed world and qualitative
Egypt was signed in 2015. changes which will allow the eradi-
Rosatom is implementing cutting cation of poverty.
technology third generation VVER-
1200 reactors. El Dabaa nuclear
power plant will have four of these
reactors which will have capacity
of 4,800MW (4.8GW). It will meet
50% of Egypt`s electricity needs.
100% of Egyptian households have

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