On November 26, 2018, in Cairo (Egypt), on the second day of the nuclear industry suppliers Forum, Rosatom Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation organized a round table dedicated to public acceptance of nuclear energy.
Abdelhamid El-Desouki, Deputy Chairman of Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA), Peter Szabo, Paks town mayor (Hungary), as well as representatives of Rusatom Service JSC, MEPhI (National Research Nuclear University) and Regional Center of Rosatom in the Middle East and North Africa region took part in the round table.
During discussion Alexander Voronkov, director of Rosatom regional center in the Middle East and North Africa, pointed: “Public acceptance is one of the key factors in the development of nuclear technologies in any country. Rosatom pays special attention to interaction with society and different stakeholders in the countries where we implements NPP construction projects. In Egypt, we are at the beginning of the path to the implementation of El Dabaa NPP project, so it is important for us to build a direct and transparent dialogue with public, media, and expert community to bring the most accurate and complete information about nuclear technologies. We have been working in this direction for many years and can share best of our experience.”
The audience were provided with information about nuclear energy and main principles of NPP operation, the unique VVER reactor technology of generation 3+, experience of NPP operation and its influence on socio-economic, scientific and industrial development in the regions. Special interest was sparked by mayor of Paks town, Peter Szabo, who shared information based on more than 30 years of experience of Nuclear Power Plants operating in Hungary and the advantages that are brought by its operation to the region and its inhabitants. “Once, construction of Paks NPP stopped the outflow of the population and growth of infrastructure provided Paks residents with jobs and raised their confidence in future. Today, it is the largest taxpayer in the region, which generates around a half of revenues to the local budget, plays an important role in supporting various social, humanitarian, sports and other initiatives. Paks is a confidently developing with its 20 thousand population city. NPP located here is a source of clean and cheap energy, covering more than 50% of Hungary’s electricity needs”, the speaker noted.
Experts and leading Egyptian media attended the event. In addition, specific sessions dedicated to discussion of opportunities for suppliers of various types of equipment and services, products and services related to general construction works as well as individual B2B business meetings of Egyptian companies with representatives of Russian nuclear companies involved into the El Dabaa NPP project implementation were held during the second day of Nuclear Industry Suppliers Forum.