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Main article: Economy of Egypt
2025
Start of construction of the first power unit of El-Dabaa NPP by Russia
In November 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin, together with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in the format of a videoconference, gave a symbolic start to the process of installing the first power unit of the Egyptian El Dabaa NPP under construction.
2019: Electrification level above 99%
2020: Low per capita energy consumption
and
1971: USSR financed and built Aswan hydroelectric power station in Egypt
Main article: Aswan
The USSR played a key role in the implementation of the High-rise Aswan Dam project), providing funding, design, technical personnel and equipment, without which this grandiose project would hardly have been carried out at that time.
Initially, the dam project, developed by British engineers, was to be funded by the United States and Britain through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. However, in 1956, the loan was withdrawn for political reasons (including due to the rapprochement of Egypt with the USSR and the nationalization of the Suez Canal).
After that, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser turned to the Soviet Union for help. The USSR saw this as an opportunity to strengthen its influence in the Middle East and support Nasser's anti-colonial policy.
The agreement on Soviet participation and loan provision was concluded on December 27, 1958. Additional agreements were signed in subsequent years.
The Soviet Union acted as the main financial and technical donor of the project.
The USSR provided Egypt with a long-term loan totaling about 400 million rubles (equivalent to about 113 million Egyptian pounds). Other estimates put the total amount of Soviet aid at more than $1 billion. This was significantly larger than the original proposal of the United States and Britain.
Soviet engineers not only finalized the old project, but developed a fundamentally new solution. The Moscow Institute "Hydroproekt" named after S.Ya. Zhuk was appointed general designer. Nikolai Malyshev, an outstanding specialist who participated in the design of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric station, was appointed chief engineer of the project.
At the peak of construction, about 2,000 Soviet specialists worked on the site (according to some estimates, the total number reached 5,000 people). They led key processes, advised and trained Egyptian workers.
The USSR also built a special Training Center in Aswan, which over the years of construction has trained over 100 thousand Egyptian qualified workers and technicians.
Equipment and materials were supplied from more than 300 Soviet enterprises.
Timeline of key events:
- January 9, 1960: The official start of construction.
- May 15, 1964: Ceremonial overlap of the Nile. The ceremony was attended by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev.
In the rocks on the right bank of the Nile, before the construction of the main dam, 6 supply tunnels with a diameter of 15 meters each were cut. These tunnels became the main channel for the river during the construction period.
- 1967: Commissioning of the first units of hydroelectric power plants. The station has become one of the largest in the world.
- July 21, 1970: The actual completion of the dam.
- January 15, 1971: The grand opening of the Aswan hydropower complex. The ceremony was held by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Nikolay Podgorny.
Funding was provided piecemeal on the basis of intergovernmental agreements:
- First agreement (27 December 1958): a loan of 34.8 million Egyptian pounds for the supply of equipment and technical assistance for the first stage.
- Second agreement (27 July 1960): An additional loan of 78.4 million Egyptian pounds to complete all work.
The total cost of the project is estimated at more than $1 billion (calculated), which significantly exceeded the initial proposal of the United States and Britain. Based on official U.S. inflation data, the 1970 $1 billion in purchasing power is equivalent to about $8.35 billion in early 2026.
Both loans were provided for 12 years at 2.5% per annum.
Egypt repaid most of the loans for the construction of the Aswan Dam in the 1970s due to income from the Suez Canal. The Soviet leadership, unfortunately, wrote off Egypt about one third of the total loan amount (113 million Egyptian pounds).
The high Aswan Dam was one of the largest in the world at its launch, setting a record as the highest bulk dam (111m) and creating a giant reservoir that ranks fourth in the world in terms of water volume (157 km³) by 2026. In terms of installed capacity, it was not the absolute world leader, inferior to such giants as the Grand Coulee hydroelectric power station in the USA (6.8 GW) and the Bratsk hydroelectric power station (4.5 GW) in the USSR.
Water from Lake Nassera through 6 supply tunnels is constantly supplied to 12 hydraulic turbines. Turbines operate almost all year round, providing a basic load in the country's power system.
A huge reservoir (Lake Nasser) accumulates water in high-water years and consumes it during dry periods. The volume of water passed through turbines is primarily determined by the needs of agriculture and water supply, and only then - by the needs of electricity.
Water for energy passes through the building of the hydroelectric power station inside the dam and is thrown into the lower pool (the river bed below the dam) by an already spent, calm flow.
The dam solved the centuries-old problems of floods and droughts, allowed irrigation of new lands and gave the country cheap electricity. At the time of launch, the hydroelectric power station generated more than half of all electricity in Egypt.
The Aswan hydroelectric power station built was recognized as one of the ten outstanding structures of the 20th century.
The project became a symbol of the success of the Nasser regime and the possibilities of Soviet-Egyptian cooperation. In 1975, the monument "Flower of Aswan" (Friendship Monument of the Soviet and Egyptian peoples) was opened at the dam.
See also
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