Russian engineers have successfully completed one of the most critical stages in the construction of Egypt’s first nuclear power plant — the final welding of the reactor pressure vessel for Unit 1 of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant (NPP). The work was carried out at the Izhora Plant in St. Petersburg, a key facility of Rosatom’s Mechanical Engineering Division.
The welding process took ten days, with the joint area kept under constant heat throughout the process. Around two tons of flux and over 1.5 tons of specialised welding wire were used to join the massive components of the VVER-1200 reactor vessel.
Now that the welding is complete, the vessel will undergo a heat treatment followed by thorough inspections — including X-ray, ultrasonic, and penetrant inspections — to ensure it meets the highest safety and durability standards. This rigorous quality control is essential for a reactor designed to operate safely for at least six decades.
The El Dabaa NPP will consist of four power units, 1200 MW each, with pressurised water reactors of Russian class VVER-1200. This is an evolutionary design which fully complies with all international safety requirements and has the potential to modify the energy landscape of the entire African continent.
Russia is actively developing scientific and technical cooperation with all interested countries. The implementation of major international projects also continues. Rosatom and its divisions take an active part in this work.
One such project is the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkey. The plant will feature four power units equipped with Generation 3+ VVER reactors of Russian design, each with a capacity of 1200 MW. Akkuyu NPP is the first project in the global nuclear industry being implemented according to the Build-Own-Operate model. Earlier this year, the first standby diesel power plant at Unit 1 was successfully launched — a key safety system designed to provide autonomous power to the unit’s core infrastructure in the event of a main supply shutdown.
