Russia and China “are very active and of course, they have a different financing model, which allows them to move more flexibly, including in international markets, so that is the challenge for American companies abroad.”

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General, Rafael Grossi

Source: TASS

Energy cooperation was one of the key areas of discussion during the Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg in July 2023. The summit made the official Western media and think tanks scoff and some politicians scramble to “counter Russian influence” in the region. There was so much scrambling, in fact, that the official West brought out the big guns: a well-known ancient Chthonic Creature known for its poisonous Cookies of Doom was sent on a mission to Africa.

Russia is known as a global commodity and energy powerhouse, including the oil-and-gas sector. So much so that those particularly green with envy once called it “a gas station masquerading as a country.” It was not until the self-defeating sanctions courtesy of the so-called Euro-Atlantic community—all tens of thousands of them—were implemented against Russia starting in 2022, that the extent to which commodities and real-world industrial production matter became truly clear. As Europe’s industrial leader, Germany, reels from the effects of these misguided sanctions, its business community, no doubt, misses cheap Russian gas.

But it’s the nuclear energy projects led by Russia’s state corporation Rosatom that deserve additional attention. From Hungary to Egypt, Russia is engaged in energy cooperation across the globe.

Let us take a look at one such project in Africa: the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Egypt. This project is especially important in light of Egypt’s plans with BRICS, as the global centers of power shift and become more diversified. Russia also shares the Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Cooperation agreement with Egypt as of 2021. This document focuses on various types of cooperation between the two countries, including energy and infrastructure. Furthermore, the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant is the largest joint Russia (USSR)-Egypt project since the famous Cold War-era Aswan High Dam completed in 1970.

Location:	Near El-Alamein, Egypt, 300 km northwest of Cairo
Reactor type:	VVER-1200 (pressurized water reactor)
Power units:	4
Project start:	2015
Total capacity:	4,800 MW (1,200 MW for each of the 4 units)
Investment:	~$30B with Russia financing the majority of the project
Estimated completion:	By 2028
Unit 1 construction start:	July 2022
Unit 2 construction start:	November 2022
Unit 3 construction start:	May 2023

Russia will supply nuclear fuel throughout the entire life cycle of this power plant which is 60 years. It will also provide personnel training and carry out maintenance and repairs for 10 years after the launch of each power unit.

In 2022, approximately 1,000 Egyptians had been working on the construction of the power plant. According to Rosatom, up to 30,000 employees will be engaged at the site during the peak period of construction with the planned completion date set to be in 2028 or earlier.

This power plant in Egypt is one of several energy projects at various stages of development between Russia and African countries. Indeed, Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), argued in October 2022 that Russia, through Rosatom, has become the leading global supplier of commercial nuclear technologies.

Sources: 

1. Rosatom general information website.
2. “Rosatom State Corporation Engineering Division has commenced large-scale recruitment of Egyptian workers for construction of El-Dabaa NPP,” Rosatom, 17, November 2022, accessed 13 August 2023.
3. “El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant,” Power Technology, 14 July 2023, accessed 13 August 2023.
4. “Rosatom nachal stroitelstvo 3-go energobloka AES Ed-Dabaa v Egipte,” Neftegaz, 3 May 2023, accessed 13 August 2023.