The second Nuclear Industry Suppliers Forum organized by Rosatom Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation and Egyptian Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPPA) was held in Cairo (Egypt) on October 8-9, 2019. The event was held at the venue of the Big Industrial Week Global Industrial and Technical Exhibition and Forum.
Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy of Egypt, Kirill Komarov, first deputy CEO for Corporate Development and International Business of Rosatom, Amgad El-Wakeel, Chairman of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA), participated in the opening ceremony. Mohamed Al-Assar, Minister of military production of Egypt attended the event.
In his welcome speech, Dr. Shaker stressed that this forum reflects the credibility of Russian-Egyptian relations and transparency that Egypt always pursues towards El Dabaa NPP project implementation. He added that this event represents a great opportunity not only to assist with participation of local business in the project, but also to make strategic partnerships with various international companies to implement it in full and according to schedule.
Kirill Komarov stated: “Rosatom pays particular attention to the localization of NPP construction in Egypt. We expect that the level of localization at the construction of the first power unit will reach 20% highlighting professionalism of Egyptian contractors. This is why it is so important for us to establish effective cooperation with our suppliers and this is exactly why we are conducting the second suppliers’ forum”.
During the forum different topics were discussed about the ins and outs of the El-Dabaa NPP project’s implementation. This includes covering issues related to Rosatom’s procurement system - the rules and other factors related to tender procedures for constructing the El-Dabaa NPP - how project designers, regulators, and businesses collaborate in the construction process, as well as other related challenges and opportunities. How Rosatom approaches complex decisions when constructing nuclear power plants abroad, creating nuclear infrastructure, and personnel training for the future of the plant. In addition, a discussion on the importance of work in the field of public acceptability of nuclear energy and humanitarian cooperation were made. Rosatom shared its extensive experience in these areas, which are an integral part of the successful implementation of the nuclear power plant project in the country.
The event brought together about 600 participants including representatives from Egyptian and international companies, dealing with construction, engineering, mechanical engineering, and equipment supply; as well as representatives from leading Egyptian media.
Rosatom also took part in the exhibition of the Big industrial week. Visitors of the booth could explore the interactive 3D-model of El Dabaa NPP. The model was created on the basis of the general plan scheme with a preliminary breakdown of NPP construction phases into separate tender lots. Visitors also took a chance on a business game available at the booth that allowed to go through key elements of design and construction of NPP with VVER-1200 generation 3+ reactors.