Egypt is studying possible sites for the construction of more nuclear reactors for power generation as it nears the completion of the existing reactor, the head of Egypt’s top nuclear body was quoted on Thursday as saying.

Amjad Al-Wakeel, Chairman of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA), said a ceremony would be held on Friday for the installation of a core catcher at 4.8 gigawatts El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (El Dabaa NPP). The safety device traps the molten core material of a nuclear reactor in case of a nuclear meltdown and prevent it from escaping the containment building.

“Egypt has fulfilled a dream since 1950s to use nuclear facilities for power generation…the construction of nuclear reactors will not be confined to the one in Dabaa as there will be more such facilities,” he told Egypt’s Addustour newspaper.

Wakeel said several sites for new reactors have been surveyed and that they are being studied by the concerned authorities to determine their feasibility.

He noted that the operational life of nuclear reactors in Egypt is 60 years and could be extended to 80 years.

In August, the paper quoted a government official as saying Cairo would be open to offers from several countries, including China, Europe and Russia’s state-owned Rosatom, which is building El Dabaa NPP.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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