Egypt's nuclear programme

07 August 2014

The country’s nuclear programme has been given fresh impetus since the election of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in May

Programme

Egypt was one of the first countries in the world to consider using nuclear energy for power. In 1955, it set up its Atomic Energy Commission, which became the Atomic Energy Authority the following year.

Cairo made its first serious moves toward nuclear power in the 1980s and by 1985, the Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA) had received bids for the main construction contracts to build a nuclear power plant at El-Dabaa, 160 kilometres west of Alexandria. However, the plans were shelved following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

Egypt’s nuclear programme was revived in 2007, as Cairo sought to boost generation capacity and reduce the country’s dependence on natural gas, with the country becoming a net importer of gas.  In 2009, Australia’s WorleyParsons was awarded a contract to act as lead consultant on the programme, beginning with the selection of site and technology. The political turmoil during the Arab uprisings resulted in the programme being put on hold in 2012.

Egypt is facing a race against time to boost generation capacity, with a supply shortfall of about 3,000MW in mid-2013, which led to prolonged power cuts.

The planned initial 1,600MW nuclear power facility at El-Dabaa, 160 kilometres west of Alexandria, will reportedly be followed by a second 900MW unit at the same site.

Status

The nuclear programme has been given fresh impetus following the election of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in May. In his presidential inauguration speech on 9 June, Al-Sisi announced that the El-Dabaa nuclear project was a key government priority.

Government officials have been quoted by local press pledging to issue terms of reference to interested companies in the second half of 2014 for the El-Dabaa scheme. According to local press, there are several major international reactor vendors interested in Cairo’s nuclear programme.

Entities

Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA): Established in 1955, initially as the Atomic Energy Commission, to research and investigate the potential for utilising nuclear power in Egypt. The EAEA remains the country’s primary nuclear research body.

Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA): Established in 1976 to oversee the development of Egypt’s power programme.

Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (NRRA): Established in 2010 to regulate nuclear activity in Egypt. The organisation has been set up to license, inspect nuclear power reactors and monitor the transport of radioactive materials.

Challenges

Political stability: Egypt’s nuclear programme was reinvigorated in 2007, but stalled in 2011 following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak. Further instability culminated in the overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Mursi, in 2013, and has resulted in little progress being made. While new president Al-Sisi has pledged to make nuclear power a government priority, success with its programme and acquiring the required international approval will depend on the stabilisation of the political environment.

Funding: The proposed nuclear power plant at El-Dabaa would cost at least $6bn, and Cairo is unlikely to able to have the capacity to fund this from its own budget or from borrowing from development agencies.

The government may have to rely on grants from foreign governments or on a developer covering most of the capital investment. It has already received more than $10bn in grants since the revolution and therefore further aid on such a scale is less likely.

Workforce: Due to the establishment of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) in 1955 and the creation of the Nuclear Engineering Department at Alexandria University in 1962, Egypt now has experience and knowledge on nuclear power. However, with many graduates located in jobs around the world, Cairo will need to ensure it can attract Egyptians back to work for its programme.

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