Egypt has signed the final agreements and notice to proceed (NTP) with Russian state nuclear provider Rosatom.

The contracts were signed on 11 December, during meetings between Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Russian president Vladimir Putin in Cairo.

Egypt and Russia signed the initial intergovernmental agreement for the North African state’s first nuclear facility in November 2015. MEED reported in August that Cairo and Moscow were close to finalising the final agreements for the El-Dabaa nuclear plant, which will have a capacity of 4.8GW.

In May 2016, Egypt signed an agreement with Russia for a $25bn loan to cover the cost of 85 per cent of the project.

The loan is to be repaid in 43 installments over 22 years, with a 3 per cent interest rate. Instalment payments will start in October 2029. Once construction work starts, the plant is expected to take nine years to build and commission.

The contract covers the development of a plant equipped with four reactors with a capacity of 1,200MW each.