An important safety system device, the "core catcher," intended for power unit No. 4, has been successfully delivered to the construction site of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant in Egypt. This was reported by the press service of JSC ASE, the engineering division of Rosatom. The device was delivered ahead of schedule due to the early provision of construction readiness of the power unit.
The ship with the "core catcher" left the port of Novorossiysk in October, and the total weight of the device is more than 700 tons, of which 155 tons is the weight of the body. Experts plan to begin installation of this key element before the end of the year.
Alexey Kononenko, Vice President of JSC ASE and Project Director, noted that the construction of power units according to the VVER-1200 project has already become a familiar process, and the company has moved to an industrial construction method. The installation of the "core catcher" on power unit No. 4 this year will demonstrate the stability of the work, as "core catchers" were successfully installed on power units No. 1 and No. 2 in 2023, and installation is planned for power unit No. 3 in 2024.
The El Dabaa NPP will be the first nuclear power plant in Egypt and will be located in the city of El Dabaa, approximately 300 km northwest of Cairo. The station will consist of four power units with a capacity of 1,200 MW each, equipped with Russian-class VVER-1200 water-cooled reactors, which meet international safety standards. The construction of the NPP is carried out within the framework of contracts signed on December 11, 2017, which also include the supply of nuclear fuel and personnel training during the operation phase.
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