Cairo and Russian state nuclear provider Rosatom signed an agreement on 19 November for the construction and operation of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant at El-Dabaa.

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

It was signed by Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Energy Mohamed Shaker and the director-general of Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, Sergey Kirienko, in the presence of Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi.

MEED reported in October that the contract was in the finance stages of negotiation and a signing was expected by the end of this year.

In February, Al-Sisi signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on nuclear power, which was followed closely by a project development for the El-Dabaa scheme.

With Egypt having set a target for introducing nuclear energy into its power sector by 2022, if the target is to be met then it is vital the construction and financing agreements are finalised without delay.

Egypt’s nuclear programme was given fresh impetus following the election of Al-Sisi in May 2014. In his presidential inauguration speech on 9 June 2014, he announced the El-Dabaa nuclear project was a key government priority.

For Moscow, the Egypt award cements its position as the dominant nuclear power provider in the region.