Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) has received approval to build a spent nuclear fuel storage facility at the 4.8GW El-Dabaa power plant in the Matrouh Governorate.
This facility will be a key part of Egypt’s growing nuclear energy programme, which aims to ensure offer safe, long-term storage for nuclear waste, reported MENAFN.
Construction is scheduled to start in 2025, adhering to global safety and environmental standards.
The facility will use advanced dry containment technology to securely store nuclear waste for up to 100 years.
El-Dabaa, Egypt’s first nuclear power plant, is the country’s largest energy project in recent decades. It is situated around 320km northwest of Cairo on the country’s Mediterranean coast.
The plant is being developed in collaboration with Russia’s Rosatom. It will feature four VVER-1200 reactors, which use the same designs as in Russia’s Leningrad and Novovoronezh plants, and Belarus’s Ostrovets plant.
NPPA chairman Amjad El-Wakeel, has been quoted by the publication, as saying: “We’ve successfully secured the permit to construct the spent nuclear fuel storage facility at El-Dabaa.”
According to El-Wakeel, the approval aligns with the project’s timeline. He also emphasised the project’s adherence to technical and safety standards.
The permit application was submitted to Egypt’s Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (NRRA) on 12 June 2024, with detailed technical and design documents reviewed by experts.
Following technical consultations and meetings between NPPA and NRRA specialists, the permit was granted on 31 December 2024.
This approval will support Egypt’s efforts to develop a sustainable and well-regulated nuclear energy programme.
Recently, Russia and Egypt began construction of El Dabaa-4, the fourth and final reactor at the plant.
The El Dabaa nuclear project, initially planned in 1954, received formal approval in 1983, and was publicly announced in 2007.
After receiving approval from the International Atomic Energy Agency in 2010, Egypt finalised agreements with Russia in 2015. Contracts took effect in December 2017, and construction officially started in July 2022.
In October 2024, the NPPA announced the completion of all segments of the first-tier inner containment building for the second reactor unit at the El-Dabaa nuclear power plant.
