France’s Assystem has been awarded a first contract to support the development of a the El Dabaa NPP which Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom is building in Egypt.
Assystem will assist the project contractor AtomStroyExport (Rosatom’s engineering division) to obtain the necessary licences and permits in order to build the station. Assystem said the project complements its business strategy, and affirmed its commitment to help newcomer countries to develop nuclear energy and to partner major nuclear players in exporting their expertise beyond their own borders.
Earlier in October, GE Power announced it had won a $700m contract to deliver the turbine island equipment for the El Dabaa NPP through AAEM its joint venture with Russia’s Atomenergomash (part of Rosatom).
GE will be responsible for the basic design of four conventional islands for the 1200MW VVER-1200 reactors, including the supply of four Arabelle half-speed steam turbines and Gigatop 4-pole generators. It will also provide technical expertise for the installation and commissioning. The project is due to enter the design phase in 2019, with manufacturing expected to start at GE’s Belfort factory in France in 2020, and delivery to site planned for 2021/2022.
The first El Dabaa unit is scheduled to start operation in 2026, subject to receiving a construction licence from the Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority by mid-2020. Rosatom will supply nuclear fuel throughout the station’s lifetime and will train personnel and assist with operation and maintenance during the first 10 years of operation.
