Egypt said on Sunday that construction of its first nuclear power plant, to be built by Russia, will begin in the next two to two-and-a-half years.
The 4,800 megawatt (MW) capacity plant at Dabaa in the north of the country, aims to be up and running by 2026, a spokesman for the energy and electricity ministry told Reuters.
Moscow and Cairo signed an agreement in 2015 for Russia to build a nuclear power plant in Egypt, with Russia extending a loan to Egypt to cover the cost of construction.
Egypt’s official gazette said in 2016 the loan was worth $25 billion and would finance 85 percent of the value of each work contract, services and equipment shipping. Egypt would fund the remaining 15 percent.
Last December, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin attended in Cairo the signing of the agreement, which officially marked the launching of the power plant project.
