Egypt postpones nuclear power plant amid tensions with Russia over Nile dam
Egypt pauses El-Dabaa nuclear power plant project for two years amid tensions hanging over the relationship with Russia due to its recent position on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis and its rapprochement with Ethiopia.
Egypt announced the postponement of the completion of the El-Dabaa nuclear plant project to 2030 instead of 2028. Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority spokesman Karim al-Adham confirmed in statements to the Egyptian economic newspaper Enterprise July 14 that El-Dabaa nuclear plant will not be completed before 2030 due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Adham said that construction works for the nuclear plant will not start for another year, as regulators are likely to issue licenses to construct the plant by mid-2022. These licenses were scheduled to be issued in the second half of 2021.
The newspaper said Adham refused to provide more information about the reasons for the delay. He contented himself with blaming the pandemic for the delay in some procedures and denying any financial impediments.
Egypt had concluded a contract charging Rosatom, the Russian state-owned giant nuclear energy company, in 2015 to construct the 4.8-gigawatt nuclear plant. The investment cost of the project is $30 billion, 85% of which is financed through a $25 billion Russian loan.
