Egypt and Russia are currently intensifying efforts to expedite the construction of the $30 billion El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant.

During a meeting between Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mahmoud Esmat, and Nikolai Shulginov, Chairman of the Russian Duma Committee on Energy, Minister Esmat emphasized the necessity of enhanced bilateral cooperation. This collaboration aims to ensure the systematic and timely progression of the strategic energy initiative, focusing on the construction timeline and upcoming phases of the project, as seen on Egypt’s State Information Service site.

The nuclear project is Egypt and Russia’s flagship cooperation initiative, built on a series of intergovernmental agreements reached over the last decade.

In 2015, the two countries reached an agreement for Russia’s state nuclear business, Rosatom, to build a $30 billion nuclear power facility near El Dabaa, west of Alexandria. The facility is designed to have four 1.2-gigawatt VVER reactors. It is also expected to generate more than 10% of the North African country’s electricity needs and provide power to approximately 20 million people, making it an important component of the country’s future energy strategy.

Egypt and Russia further strengthened their partnership by signing more nuclear cooperation agreements in 2017, during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Cairo. These included proposals to build a nuclear fuel storage facility that would later be reprocessed in Russia.

The project’s initial plans envisaged the first reactor test run in 2022, full commissioning in 2026, and overall completion between 2028 and 2029. While schedules have changed, officials say the project is still on track as both sides increase cooperation efforts and technical monitoring.

The recent discussions between Egyptian officials and the Russian parliamentary delegation centered on expediting implementation, refining phase transitions, and enhancing coordination among joint work teams for the El Dabaa nuclear plant.

The Russian delegation also visited the construction site, with Moscow’s embassy in Cairo emphasizing the project’s strategic importance and its role in strengthening bilateral cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Egypt’s Electricity Ministry stressed that the plant is being built with innovative engineering solutions to fulfill high international standards for safety, efficiency, and environmental protection.

Once completed, the El Dabaa plant would house four reactors with a total capacity of 4,800 megawatts, considerably increasing Egypt’s power generation capacity and assisting the country’s transition to a more diverse energy mix. Officials said the initiative aims not just to increase low-carbon electricity production, but also to boost national energy security and reduce long-term reliance on traditional fuel sources.