Electricity Minister: Dabaa’s nuclear fuel to arrive in May 2027 via dedicated seaport

Atomic power incoming: The nuclear fuel required to operate the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant will arrive in May 2027 via a dedicated seaport built for that purpose in the Dabaa region, Electricity Minister Mahmoud Esmat said in an interview with El Sora’s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 12:58). Two of the plant’s four units are slated to be connected to the grid in 2028, with the other two following in 2029, Esmat said. If both can’t be brought online on schedule, at least one unit will join the grid in 2028, he added.

Upping the wattage? The government is considering increasing the number of nuclear reactors in the country, though a final decision has not yet been made, Esmat said. Any new reactors would take far less time to build than the Dabaa plant did because the necessary infrastructure is already in place, he added.

REMEMBER- Esmat said in August that the government is considering adding at least two new units to the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, with the possibility of increasing that to four additional units. Esmat added at the time that the government was discussing the proposed expansions with Russia's Rosatom, starting with the first two units, though no final investment decision, cost, or timeline has been announced.

A future outlook: The plant is expected to generate around 35 bn kWh annually, equivalent to roughly 12% of Egypt’s projected electricity demand by 2030, former vice chairman of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority Ali Abdel Nabi told us in August. With an availability rate exceeding 92%, the plant would provide continuous power for hotels, residential developments, and future industries without placing additional strain on the national grid.