Egypt, Russia signed deal to build a nuclear power plant in Egypt

Egypt and Russia on 19 November 2015 signed an agreement to build a nuclear power plant in Egypt. As per the agreement, Russia will extend a loan to Egypt to cover the cost of construction.

The plant is expected to be completed by 2022.

Highlights of the deal
• The plant will be the first in Egypt and will be built at Dabaa in the North of the country.
• The project would involve the building of a third-generation plant with four reactors.
• Egypt will not bear the cost of building this plant. It will be paid back through the actual production of electricity that will be generated by this plant.

Background
Egypt has been considering a nuclear plant at Dabaa on and off since the 1980s. But the country froze its nuclear plans after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

In 2006, the country once again announced to revive the nuclear plans under the President-ship of Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak was then overthrown in a revolution in 2011. Later in 2014, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi came to power and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to go ahead with the nuclear project.

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