El Dabaa (NPP)

History

2023: A branch of the Russian MEPhI University will appear in Egypt in order to train personnel for the El Dabaa NPP

In mid-February 2023, it became known about the construction in Egypt of a branch of the MEPhI National Research Nuclear University. The goal of the project is to train personnel for the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant under construction with the participation of Russia, which is the first in this country, said Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Read more here.

2022

Training by Rosatom of 1.7 thousand specialists to work at El Dabaa

Rosatom will train 1.7 thousand specialists to work at the Egyptian nuclear power plant under a contract worth more than 5 billion rubles. This was announced on August 25, 2022 by TASS with reference to materials published on the public procurement website.

Students will have to take courses on 100 points, including Russian, administrative issues of NPP operation, personnel management, requirements for radioactive waste management. They will have to learn skills on simulators at the reference nuclear power plant in Russia, and then on the simulators of the Ed-Dabaa NPP.

Rosatom will train 1.7 thousand specialists for El Dabaa

As stated in the terms of reference, the Rosatom Technical Academy will have to prepare a full set of specialists for all positions for operation and maintenance of this unit by the beginning of the power start-up of each NPP unit. In total, according to information from the TOR, it is planned to train 1712 people. Thus, the cost of training one employee will exceed 2.9 million rubles.

In April 2022, at the St. Petersburg branch of the Rosatom Technical Academy, certificates were awarded on the successful completion of the Russian language course by specialists from the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant, which is being built according to the Russian project. For six months, teachers of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University of Peter the Great worked with specialists from the El Dabaa nuclear power plant. For this, the university staff compiled and published a textbook "Russian as a foreign language for specialists in the nuclear energy industry." Upon graduation, Egyptian specialists successfully passed two exams - oral and written. During the ceremony, it was noted that foreign listeners quickly and effectively mastered knowledge, the press service of Rosatom reports^[1]

Start of NPP construction

On July 20, 2022, Rosatom announced the start of construction of Egypt's first nuclear power plant (NPP). It was named "El Dabaa." The site is located in the Matrukh region on the Mediterranean coast 350 km from Cairo.

Four power units with Russian VVER-1200 reactor plants will be located at the station. These power units belong to the "3 +" generation and meet high international requirements for efficiency and safety. The total capacity of the station will be almost 4.8 GW. The construction of all four NPP units is planned to be completed by 2028-2029.

Start of NPP construction in Egypt

Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev, emphasizing the significance of the event, noted that the start of construction of the first power unit of the El Dabaa NPP means Egypt's entry into the world nuclear club.

We have already accumulated experience in the construction and operation of nuclear power plants with such reactors both in Russia and abroad. The construction of a nuclear power plant will allow Egypt to reach a new level of development of technology, industry and education. This will be the largest project of Russian-Egyptian cooperation since the construction of the Aswan Dam. Own nuclear power was more than half a century's dream for the Egyptian people, and Rosatom is honored to realize this dream, "Likhachev said (quoted by the press service of Rosatom).

NPPA Chairman Amged El-Wakil stressed that the start of the construction of the nuclear power plant would not have taken place without the decision of the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to launch the Egyptian nuclear project. All state bodies spare no effort to achieve this common goal and understand that the Egyptian nuclear program is part of the strategy for the comprehensive development of the republic, he said.^[2]

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