The first tier of the inner containment building (VZO – Vnutrennei Zatsitnoi Obolochk) has been installed at unit 2 at Egypt’s El Dabaa NPP, according to the Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA). The inner containment is crucial for ensuring the nuclear and environmental safety of the facility, preventing the leakage of radioactive materials during emergencies. The containment building, which designed as a cylindrical structure made of prestressed reinforced concrete with a hemispherical dome, will house both the VVER-1200 reactor and primary circuit equipment.
The VZO consists of six tiers and the first tier contains 12 large composite structural elements. They are produced at the production base of the El Dabaa NPP by specialists from the contracting organisation, ASE. Each of the 12 segments weighs 60-80 tonnes. The first segment was installed in late September. Installation of the first tier of the inner containment building for unit 1 was completed in May and took three months.
El Dabaa NPP will comprise four units with generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors. The NPP is being constructed in accordance with contracts that entered into force in 2017. The $30bn project is mainly financed through a $25bn Russian loan. Rosatom will supply nuclear fuel throughout the lifecycle of the plant, arrange for the training of the Egyptian personnel, and assist in the operation and maintenance of the plant for the first 10 years. The reference plant for El Dabaa is the Leningrad-II NPP. Construction of all four units is planned for completion by 2028-2029 and Egypt expects that the NPP will reach full capacity by 2030.
