Forum on the Prospects of Electricity Generation and Desalination of Sea Water by using Nuclear Energy

7 December, 2022

Venue: Al Massah Hotel

Date: December 7, 2022

The Chairman of ENRRA started his speech by thanking the organizers of the forum, and expressed his sincere appreciation for his invitation to participate in the round table on nuclear energy and sustainable development.

Shaaban indicated that energy is the most important pillar of sustainable development. Therefore, the Egyptian state has set a clear program to achieve economic and social development, reflecting a clear understanding of the challenges we face not only in Egypt, but all over the world.

This was reflected in Egypt’s Vision 2030 by diversifying energy sources as one of the most essential elements for achieving the goals of this vision, which represents one of the strategic options to enhance Egypt’s development plans, by increasing the share of electricity generated from nuclear power plants to 9% of the total energy mix by 2030, and in this sense, nuclear energy is an important component of sustainable development.

H.E Dr. Sami Shaaban emphasized that since the Arab Republic of Egypt embarked on its strategic decision to build nuclear power plants to generate electricity in 2007, it worked to enact a comprehensive law to regulate nuclear and radiological activities, covering the various aspects of those activities, including nuclear security and safety, nuclear safeguards, and nuclear and radiological emergencies as well as civil liability; Hence, Law No. 7 of 2010 regulating nuclear and radiological activities was issued, according to which the “Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority” was established as an independent regulatory body, and the law entrusted it with taking over all regulatory work and oversight tasks related to nuclear and radiological activities, to benefit from the peaceful uses of atomic energy in a manner that guarantees safety.

Safety of people, property and the environment from the dangers of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the law has granted it the necessary powers in order to achieve that goal. Accordingly, the main role of ENRRA is to ensure that nuclear facilities are established and operated according to the highest safety standards, ensuring that there is no negative impact on public health or the environment, but this role should not in any way impede the goals of sustainable development.

ENRRA has taken a number of steps to build a strong and independent regulatory body. With the aim of responding effectively to the growing importance of nuclear energy, in implementation of the Egyptian state’s plan, without prejudice to its primary role in preserving public health and safety as a priority for the Authority.

Among the most important of these procedures:

1- Achieving full independence without isolation from the interested parties, through the support provided by the Egyptian state, represented by H.E the President of the Republic of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and H.E the Prime Minister, by removing the obstacles that were facing the Authority.

2- Issuing executive regulation governing the affairs of the authority’s personnel, which was praised by many international institutions, including the experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency during their mission to the Arab Republic of Egypt to assess the integrated nuclear infrastructure.

3- Developing a clear organizational structure with specific tasks and responsibilities in line with international best practices, which allowed attracting the best cadres and providing them with the necessary skills through targeted and intensive training programs.

4- Establishing and implementing an Integrated Management System that organizes all procedures and operations within the authority, in line with the best international standards, and facilitating the authority’s operations, through the electronic management system, in implementation of the Egyptian state’s plan for digital transformation.

5- Establishing and implementing a Knowledge Management System, which aims to support the localization of the necessary knowledge and the sharing of our practices, by gaining expertise from the Authority’s employees in a way that does not affect the authority’s strategy, plans and objectives in the future.

In order to activate this oversight role, the authority granted site acceptance permission for the Dabaa nuclear plant in March 2019, and carried out inspection visits to the site of Dabaa nuclear plant to ensure the readiness of the site to start construction. It granted construction permit for the first unit at the end of last June, then the second unit at the end of October, after reviewing and evaluating the documents submitted by the Nuclear Power Plants Authority to generate electricity according to the highest standards, and ensuring that there are no risks to people, property and the environment.

It is worth noting that the discussion session was attended by: Prof. Dr. Moustafa El-Feki, Writer, Political Thinker and Former Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Prof. Dr. Salem El Hamdy, Director General of the Arab Atomic Energy Authority, and Dr. Alexander Korchagen, Senior Vice President of rosatom Export for Construction Projects Management, and Prof. Dr. Amjad Saeed Al-Wakil, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nuclear Power Plants Authority.