El Dabaa is Egypt's first nuclear power plant, being built by Rosatom on the country's Mediterranean coast and consisting of four VVER-1200 units. The project is based on the Egypt–Russia intergovernmental agreement signed in 2015, and 85 percent of the cost is covered by a Russian state loan. Construction began in July 2022; all four units are targeted to enter service by 2030.
Where is the plant being built and how is the project financed?
The site lies on the Mediterranean coast in north-western Egypt, about 170 km west of Alexandria. The coastal location was chosen for two reasons: the reactors draw their cooling water from the sea, and main equipment weighing hundreds of tonnes can reach the site by ship.
The intergovernmental agreement between Egypt and Russia was signed in November 2015. A Russian state export loan of USD 25 billion, announced in May 2016, covers 85 percent of the project cost; repayment starts in 2029 and is spread over 22 years. The plant is owned by the Egyptian state's nuclear power plants authority, and Rosatom is the main contractor. Rosatom will supply fuel for the entire life of the plant; in January 2025 approval was given for an on-site dry storage facility for spent fuel.
What stage has construction reached?
All four units use the VVER-1200/V-529 pressurised water reactor. Construction of the units was started one after another within about 18 months:
| Unit | Licence / start of construction | Key milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Licence June 2022, first concrete July 2022 | The reactor pressure vessel reached the site after 41 months of manufacturing in Russia and was installed in November 2025 |
| Unit 2 | Start of construction November 2022 | Welding of the pressure vessel was completed in February 2025 |
| Unit 3 | Licence March 2023, start of construction May 2023 | Building and infrastructure works ongoing |
| Unit 4 | Licence August 2023, first concrete January 2024 | Building and infrastructure works ongoing |
As of September 2025, around 25,000 people were working on site. At this scale, material flows have to be planned daily: alongside local materials such as concrete and reinforcing steel, thousands of equipment items arriving from Russia and third countries come together in the same site warehouse.
Why is the supply chain so similar to Akkuyu's?
El Dabaa and Akkuyu in Mersin use reactors from the same design family; the details of the design are explained in the VVER-1200 reactor entry. Although the V-509 version is installed at Akkuyu and the V-529 at El Dabaa, the main equipment lists overlap to a large extent: reactor pressure vessel, four steam generators, main circulation pumps, pressuriser and core catcher. Because most of these components are manufactured at plants in Russia, in both projects:
- heavy components are brought to site by sea via the Black Sea, the Turkish Straits and the Mediterranean,
- equipment is identified by KKS code and shipped together with the manufacturer's passport,
- the document set is prepared to Russian nuclear standards, and the regulator of the receiving country carries out its own inspections as well.
The differences lie in the contract model. Akkuyu, under a build-own-operate model, belongs to a project company in which Rosatom holds the majority stake; El Dabaa belongs to Egypt and is financed with a Russian loan. Customs regimes, port infrastructure and site access rules also work differently in each country. The flow on the Akkuyu side is covered in the Akkuyu supply chain entry, and the site itself in the location and units of Akkuyu NPP entry.
Which requirements stand out from a logistics perspective?
- Heavy lifting: The pressure vessel and steam generators are moved from the quay to the site on special transporters and lifted into the building with high-capacity cranes (see heavy lifting at nuclear power plants).
- Schedule alignment: Because the four units progress in parallel, a delayed component for one unit can also affect the installation sequence of another.
- Quality and traceability: Preservation, packaging and humidity conditions are documented throughout the shipment.
- Multimodal connections: A road and inland-waterway leg from the manufacturer to the port is needed, followed by a short but heavy road leg from the port to the site.
How does Voltim Global support this?
Because El Dabaa and Akkuyu use the same VVER-1200 reactor family, their documentation, coding and site-delivery practices are also largely shared. The experience Voltim Global has gained on the Akkuyu route forms the basis of its nuclear project transport service.