Work has begun at unit 3 of Egypt’s El Dabaa NPP to install the core localisation device or melt trap (ULR – Ustroistvo Lokalizatsii Rasplava), which is a long-lead manufacturing equipment. The melt trap was delivered to the site in July. It consists of several elements, the total weight of which is 480 tonnes, while the weight of the housing of the melt trap is 155 tonnes. The installation was carried out by a 10 people using a Zoomlion ZCC 32000 heavy crane, with a carrying capacity of 2000 tonnes.
The event was attended by Amged El-Wakil, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plants Authority; Alexey Kononenko, Vice President of ASE and Director of the El Dabaa Construction Project.
“Today we are pleased to note the implementation of the next key event of this year – installation work for them melt trap at unit 3 in accordance with the schedule, said Kononenko. “All this would not have been possible without the full cooperation of the Egyptian customer and general contractor.”
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.
Researched and written by Judith Perera
