Ministry spokesman Ayman Hamza said that negotiations with the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation (Rosatom) were progressing well in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, in statements reported by state-owned news agency MENA.
Hamza added that a draft of the plant’s main contract has been concluded, and that drafts of the rest of the contracts related to the project are being finalised.
According to the spokesman, all contracts will be signed in the early months of 2017.
Earlier it was reported that the Egyptian government is reviewing three scenarios for signing the contracts with Rosatom. Government sources told Daily News Egypt that the first scenario was a partial signing of the contracts before the end of the year, leaving the remaining parts to be signed within three months. The second scenario involved postponement of the entire agreement until March, and then presenting the agreements to the State Council for revision. The third scenario, which the source described as “highly unlikely”, was postponing the signing of the contracts indefinitely or cancelling them.
Sources said that both parties have recently agreed on the banking guarantees, in terms of the mechanism of granting loans and guarantees of payments. Moreover, the other item on credit packages serves as a supplement for the banking guarantees.
The sources noted that current negotiations include items on fuel saving, technical support, and operation guarantee.
In general, the source explained that Moscow will provide nuclear fuel to Egypt, pointing out that this would be the biggest contract signed in the history of Egypt.
In November 2015, Russia and Egypt signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the Dabaa NPP, consisting of four nuclear power units, 1,200 megawatt (MW) each, on the Mediterranean Sea coast
According to the draft agreement, Russia will loan Egypt the $25 billion needed to finance the building and operation of the plant.
Egypt would pay the loan back at an interest rate of three percent annually, with installment payments beginning in 2029.
