Egypt mulling El Dabaa NPP expansion to six units, Rosatom also identifies next partners in Africa - Likhachev

MOSCOW. Oct 29 (Interfax) - Egypt is thinking of expanding the El Dabaa nuclear power plant to six power units, Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev said in an interview with Interfax on the sidelines of the third Russia-Africa Summit.

"Seeing how the project is developing, our Egyptian partners are seriously thinking of expanding the El Dabaa NPP to six power units. We back this initiative," Likhachev said.

Rosatom is discussing new areas for cooperation with Egypt, including a desalination complex at the NPP, a nuclear medicine center and small-scale nuclear power.

Likhachev said Rosatom's next partners on the continent have also been identified. "We are readying a project with Ethiopia for the first national large-capacity nuclear power plant: a roadmap for 2026-2027 was signed in March, and selection of a site is underway. A roadmap for a small nuclear power plant was signed with Rwanda in the summer, and we are simultaneously establishing a Nuclear Science and Technology Center," he said.

The Russian state corporation is looking at the possibility of building floating power units with Tanzania and Togo. " Tanzania has settled on this format as the priority for implementation on the island of Zanzibar," Likhachev said.

Others countries include Congo, starting with a small hydroelectric power plant project, and Namibia, which has expressed interest in a small NPP.

"For many countries on the continent, small nuclear power plants are turning into an ideal first step into nuclear energy. A plant's capacity is precisely matched to the needs of the power grid, and if demand grows, the number of power units can be increased relatively quickly," Likhachev said, explaining the interest in such technologies.

He said the world's only operating floating nuclear power plant, the Akademik Lomonosov, has been in commercial operation since 2020 in Pevek, Chukotka. The first export contract for a small nuclear power plant was an agreement with Uzbekistan.

"Rwanda is becoming the first partner in such a project in Africa. It plans to include nuclear power in its energy mix by the early 2030s," Likhachev said.

Rosatom is currently building four 1200 MW power units at the El Dabaa NPP in Egypt, its first project in Africa. Rosatom also hopes to collaborate with other African countries, notably Ethiopia, Rwanda and Zambia, Likhachev said earlier on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit.