Rosatom explains the "obstacles" it faced in establishing the Dabaa nuclear plant in Egypt

On Wednesday evening, the Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom commented on the statements of its general director regarding the “obstacles” the company faced in establishing the Dabaa nuclear plant in Egypt.

Rosatom said in a statement on its Facebook account: “During his speech at the Russian-African summit, Mr. Alexei Likhachev, Director General of the Rosatom Foundation, said: (During the implementation of the Egyptian project, we faced the Corona pandemic, we faced international sanctions, and we also faced harmful practices and obstacles on the part of some countries that targeted this project. However, we were able to overcome all these challenges thanks to, firstly, the work teams, especially those working on the project site from both sides, and secondly, the support of... The two presidents of our countries.

The company added in its statement: “In this context, the Rosatom Foundation would like to clarify that what Mr. Likhachev referred to as (harmful practices and obstacles) is related to attempts to undermine the project by publishing false and misleading information, with the aim of obstructing its progress and harming the reputation of both the project and the Rosatom Foundation.”

At the same time, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received, on Thursday, Alexei Likhachev, Director General of the Russian State Nuclear Energy Agency (Rosatom), on the sidelines of the third Russian-African summit held in Moscow.

Al-Sisi expressed appreciation for the cooperation with Rosatom to establish the Dabaa nuclear power plant, stressing the importance of this project, which comes within the framework of Egypt’s keenness to increase the production of renewable energy to raise its contribution to the total energy mix, and to meet the Egyptian state’s electricity and energy needs, according to a statement by the Egyptian presidential spokesman.

The Nuclear Power Plants Authority in Egypt recently confirmed that the implementation of the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant project “is being carried out in accordance with the highest internationally applicable nuclear safety and security standards.”

According to a statement by the Nuclear Power Plants Authority at the time, it “followed what was stated in the material published in the American newspaper Politico regarding the project, and the general allegations and doubts it contained regarding the application of safety standards during the implementation of the project. The Authority would like to clarify that the material presented an inaccurate and unbalanced picture of the reality of the project, and its interpretation of conclusions related to the safety of the project and the efficiency of its implementation, without placing those observations in their correct technical and supervisory context, as the project was pushed into the pursuit of achieving other political goals.”

In January 2024, the Egyptian Parliament agreed to amend the financing agreement between Egypt and Russia to establish the Dabaa nuclear station.