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Egypt postpones nuclear power plant amid tensions with Russia over Nile dam

Egypt pauses El-Dabaa nuclear power plant project for two years amid tensions hanging over the relationship with Russia due to its recent position on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis and its rapprochement with Ethiopia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi arrive to make a press statement following the 2019 Russia-Africa Summit at the Sirius Park of Science and Art, Sochi, Russia, Oct. 24, 2019.

Egypt announced the postponement of the completion of the El-Dabaa nuclear plant project to 2030 instead of 2028. Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority spokesman Karim al-Adham confirmed in statements to the Egyptian economic newspaper Enterprise July 14 that El-Dabaa nuclear plant will not be completed before 2030 due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Adham said that construction works for the nuclear plant will not start for another year, as regulators are likely to issue licenses to construct the plant by mid-2022. These licenses were scheduled to be issued in the second half of 2021.

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