Rosatom's El Dabaa NPP, which is being built in Egypt, will be the safest in the world and will be able to withstand earthquakes with an intensity of up to magnitude 9.
This was stated in an interview with Al-Qahira al-Ikhbariya El-Dabaa TV channel by Alexey Kononenko, Vice President of Atomstroyexport JSC (engineering division of Rosatom Group).
The world is now extremely interested in green energy, it is necessary to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere - the construction of a nuclear power plant will be able to significantly contribute to this and have a positive impact on the entire region. As for El-Dabaa, it is being built using the latest technologies, and in accordance with the Russian project, it will become the safest nuclear power plant in the world.
Safety and reliability, according to him, will be ensured by the installation of a melt localization device at the NPP. The water-cooled power reactor of the Egyptian NPP will be the same as that of the Leningrad NPP-2 - and it is considered one of the most advanced in the world. In addition, the design of the facility includes seismic resistance - if you believe the official, the NPP "will be able to withstand an earthquake of up to nine points".
El Dabaa NPP
The four-unit NPP, each unit of which has a capacity of 1200 MW, is the largest on the entire African continent.
El Dabaa is also the first NPP with VVER-1200 reactors of the innovative generation 3+ on the African continent, and the first NPP being built in Egypt.
Rosatom received permission to build its first unit in the summer of 2022, and the fourth power unit was laid down at the end of January 2024 with video participation of the Presidents of Russia and Egypt, Vladimir Putin and Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The facility is scheduled to be commissioned in 2028.
The Russian side will not only build the plant, but will also provide nuclear fuel for the entire life cycle of the facility, train Egyptian NPP personnel, and assist in the operation and service of the plant for the first 10 years of its operation.
In addition to the El Dabaa NPP, Atomstroyexport JSC (engineering division of Rosatom Group) will build a special storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and supply it with containers.