Cairo: Egypt and Russia Thursday signed a deal to build the first Egyptian nuclear plant, which President Abdullah Fattah Al Sissi said would be for peaceful purposes.
“Egypt has long dreamed of having a peaceful nuclear programme to generate electricity,” Al Sissi said at a televised address following the signing ceremony.
“Today we take the first step to make this dream come true.”
The deal, estimated at 20 billion dollars, was signed by the Egyptian government and Russia’s state company Rosatom.
Al Sissi said that the Russian offer was “the best from the economic perspective”. He did not give details.
The plant is planned to be built in the desert area of Al Dabaa in Egypt’s north west. Al Sissi said that the value of the facility will be repaid over 35 years.
In recent years, Egypt has suffered from an acute energy shortage.
Thursday’s accord comes more than two weeks after a Russian passenger plane crashed in Egypt’s Sinai, killing all 224 people on board. Most victims were Russian holidaymakers.
Russia confirmed this week that the plane had been downed by a terrorist bomb and vowed to hunt down for the culprits.
An affiliate of the terrorist Daesh claimed responsibility for the October 31 crash.
Al Sissi said his country has taken “many measures” to step up security at its air and sea ports following the Oct. 31 crash of a Russian airliner and that it will not stop until all sources of concern are removed.
He added that Egypt is willing to cooperate with any party that wants to see improved security at Egyptian ports of entry until every loophole is plugged.
