During their third encounter in February, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to numerous joint economic projects between the two countries. Amidst the cooperation deals was one that incited controversial reactions: building a nuclear power plant in the Egyptian coastal city of Dabaa for a much needed 9,600 megawatts of electricity. Egyptian Streets talked to Rosatom Corporation, Russia’s national nuclear corporation, which will work on building the plant. – – – – – – – ES: How will Egypt get highly trained operators? Will all operators be Russian? Rosatom: The operators will definitely be Egyptian. Russia will provide the necessary support in their training and will also be providing technical support to the client over a long period after the NPP’s commissioning. Both are integral parts of the project. This is standard international practice. ES: Why is the plant being built close to the sea and people? Why not somewhere in the desert? Rosatom : Any NPP (nuclear power plant) requires a huge amount of water for cooling, which is why the location in the Dabaa region is ideal. Locating NPPs on the seaside or on the bank of…
