FILE IMAGE: Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters
Minister of Finance of Russia Anton Siluanov is suggesting to use the Russian National Wealth Fund to provide Cairo with a $25bn loan until 2028 to consturct Egypt’s first nuclear power plant.
Russia and Egypt signed contract on the construction of the nuclear power plant in Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast in 2017. It will contain four 1,200 megawatt reactors and will be built by the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom. Then Rosatom stated that the Dabaa nuclear power plant was expected to cost an estimated $21 billion and would be finished in either 2028 or 2029.
Siluanov’s suggestion will be possible if the amount of funds in the Russian National Wealth Fund reaches 7% of Russia’s GDP. According to experts, this condition will be reached in late 2019. After this, Russia will be able to use the fund for investment projects.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his Russian counterpat Vladimir Putin met in Sochi in October 2018. During the meeting, the Dabaa nuclear power plant was once again noted as one of the key projects between the two states.
Of all the things to invest in Egypt this has got to be the worst. I understand Russia is trying to win Egypt over while Egypt is trying to stay truly neutral but such a project will open up all sorts of cans of worms.
FOR EXAMPLE……
There will be the inevitable allegations from regional rival that some sort of Manhattan Project is underway and there will be the inevitable temptation to actually build one. Egypt is somewhat involved in Libya and has a domestic ISIS insurgency and is on sour if stable terms with the US and Russia. Egypt is frequently arguing with Sudan and Ethiopia over the use of the Nile River.
Do note that during the height of Egypt’s hosilities with Israel during the 1950’s Egypt tried to build cruise missiles and nukes, and of course the program was systematically sabotaged and murdered by Mossad. While peace has since been established do understand this project won’t sit well with Israel and will likely explode if there’s any real evidence that Egypt is trying to build a bomb.
Why?