CAIRO — The Egyptian government is taking new steps to implement its ambitious program to use nuclear energy for the generation of electricity. This comes after the project had been halted due to security, political and economic reasons as well as popular opposition.

Interim Egyptian President Adly Mansour announced Oct. 6 plans to move forward in inaugurating a nuclear plant in the city of El-Dabaa, to be used for peaceful purposes. He considered it a national priority that would satisfy Egypt’s developmental needs during the coming decades in light of the energy crisis that has plagued the country. According to him, this crisis is due to the lack of fuel needed to generate electricity and the inefficiency of existing power plants. These generate only 30,000 megawatts, which is not enough to satisfy the needs of Egypt, where the amount of electricity consumed per capita is 30% lower than the world average.

Egypt’s entry into the nuclear age began in 1954 during the era of late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, when the country signed its first nuclear agreement with the Soviet Union to build a two-megawatt scientific research nuclear reactor and a radioactive isotope laboratory. Subsequently, the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority (EAEA) was formed in 1957, but the project was put on hold after the war of 1967, to be reinstated by late President Anwar Sadat after the war of 1973. It was again shelved by deposed President Hosni Mubarak in 1986, following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and amid growing concerns about nuclear safety.

“We are taking every measure to expedite the tender for the implementation of the El-Dabaa nuclear energy project next January," Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Energy Ahmad Emam explained to Al-Monitor. "There is no intention to issue a decree assigning the project to a specific corporation, and the company that tenders the best financing offer wins the contract, whereby the government will repay financing costs at a later date.”