Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which will supply the technology for the El Dabaa project, said in a statement that the application is a “milestone” for the project as full-scale construction could begin only after a licence is granted.
Ayman Hamza, a spokesperson for the Egyptian energy ministry, told Russian news agency Tass that the construction permit for Units 1 and 2 “is expected” to be granted in the first half of 2022.
In March, Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev said Russia was aiming to receive a construction licence for El Dabaa in the second half of 2021, with full-scale construction set to begin in 2022.
El Daaba, which will have four Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors, will be Egypt’s first nuclear power station. It is to be built about 300 km northwest of the capital Cairo on the Mediterranean coast.
Rosatom is to build the station under agreements signed in 2015 and 2017. The first unit is scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2026.
Russia has agreed to lend Egypt $25bn for the construction of the project, earlier reports said, adding that 85% of the project will be financed through a Russian loan with an interest rate of 3%.
