Egypts Ministry for Electricity and Energy has announced that an international tender to build the country’s first nuclear power station will be launched in January 2014
According to Reuters, Aktham Abouelela, spokesman for the Ministry of Electricity and Energy revealed that the Nuclear Plants Authority plans to set up the first station in Dabaa, located on the Mediterranean Coast. “It will be a pressurised water reactor with a capacity to produce up to 1,650MW of energy and the station will have two units,” Abouelela said.
In 2006, Egypt had announced that it would revive its nuclear programme and started preparing for tenders two years ago. Earlier this year, Russia’s trade and industry ministry had agreed to help Egypt develop atomic energy.
The Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Energy did not divulge details about how the nuclear plant would be financed. But the country has recently received a US$12bn financial aid from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the news agency reported.
Other countries in the region to embark on nuclear energy programmes include Jordan, which awarded Russia’s ROSATOM a contract to build its first two nuclear power plants east of Amman, and the UAE, that has announced plans to build four reactors with a combined capacity of 5,600MW by 2020.
In Africa, South Africa aims to add 9.6GW of nuclear power to its main grid by 2030, while Uganda has also announced plans for nuclear energy development by 2050.
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