Egypt: El-Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant Closer To Commissioning

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The installation of the core catcher of El-Dabaa nuclear power plant (NPP) Unit 4 has started recently making it one step closer to the launch.

Works for installation of the core catcher of El-Dabaa NPP Unit 4 in Egypt has recently started.

The General Designer and General Contractor of the NPP is Rosatom Engineering Division.

The core catcher is a part of the passive safety system, designed to prevent the release of radioactive substances into the environment in the event of a severe accident accompanied by destruction of the reactor vessel. It consists of several elements with the total weight over 700 tons (the weight of the core catcher body is 155 tons).

“The core catcher is one of the key safety components of power units of Generation III+. It is symbolic that we are beginning the installation of the core catcher at Unit 4 on Nuclear Energy Day celebrated in Egypt on November 19.

Works for construction of all the four units of the first nuclear power plant in Egypt are in full swing with observance of all the international requirements. In each of its projects, Rosatom puts safety above all, and the Egyptian construction site is no exception for us,” said Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Rosatom.

El-Dabaa will consist of four power units, 1200 MW each, with pressurised water reactors of Russian class VVER-1200.

This is an evolutionary Gen III+ design which fully complies with all international safety requirements. Earlier this August the core catcher was delivered to the construction site of the Paks-II NPP (Hungary) new power units.

Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy of the Arab Republic of Egypt Mahmoud Esmat confirmed that the El-Dabaa NPP project is under constant supervision and that the work is ongoing on schedule to complete all stages and connect it to the grid.

He explained the energy sector’s strategy, which focuses on energy balance, diversifying power generation sources, and utilising new, renewable, and clean energy sources to decrease fuel consumption and lower carbon emissions.

Mahmoud Esmat asserted the importance of the peaceful use of nuclear energy as an essential component of a sustainable development strategy and achieving our goals across various sectors, especially in electricity generation.

El-Dabaa NPP is the first NPP in Egypt. It is being built in the city of El-Dabaa, in the Matrouh province on the Mediterranean coast, approximately 300 km north-west from Cairo.

In accordance with the contractual obligations, the Russian party will not only construct the NPP but will also supply nuclear fuel for the whole life cycle of the NPP and will provide assistance to the Egyptian partners in training of the personnel at the operation and maintenance stages during the first ten years of NPP operation.

Besides, under a separate agreement, the Russian party will build special storages and will supply special containers for storing spent nuclear fuel.

 

 

 

 

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com