El Dabaa NPP: What’s in Store for Egypt’s Economy?

Already speculation is rife as to what the El Dabaa project – already dubbed the deal of the century – will mean to Egypt and its people in practical terms. And, whichever way you look at it, quite apart from the historic and symbolic significance of the project, its benefits can hardly be overstated. So what are the tangible benefits that Egypt stands to gain from the NPP project coming to fruition?


Firstly and most obviously, there is the electricity that will be generated at the El Dabaa NPP, which will go a long way towards meeting Egypt’s energy demand, which has been growing at a rate of more than 10% a year since 2010. Former IAEA Chief Inspector Dr Yousry Abu Shady says: “The power generation from these fourVVER-1200 units [of the El Dabaa NPP] when completed should contribute to over 10% of the total power generation in Egypt.’ This will allow Egypt to increase its energy exports, which are at the moment stand at only 12.10 kW per capita, which is 50 times less than of the European average. As Dr Abu Shady highlights the detrimental impact of Egypt’s current reliance on hydrocarbons (which presently account for 90% of Egypt’s total power generation) has on the country’s economy and environment, ‘The current burning of fossil fuels (natural gas, petrol and coal) causes significant environmental pollution and a great loss of sources for valuable petrochemicals and the income of the state.’