The Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) revealed six challenges facing the development of nuclear power in Egypt and the establishment of the first project in Dabaa in the governorate of Matrouh.

Public acceptance, citizen awareness of the advantages of nuclear energy, and providing clear information about the project to non-specialists are the most important challenges facing the establishment of the Dabaa nuclear station.

A senior official at the NPPA told Daily News Egypt that the nuclear plant being prepared for establishment is still facing great difficulties and challenges, most notably the lack of public conviction of the importance of implementing the plant in Dabaa.

He stressed the need to strengthen the government’s active participation and to hold conferences and public discussions in the presence of experts and specialists to explain the reasons to establish the nuclear plant and its benefits to and impacts on all sectors.

“Scientists see nuclear power as an inexhaustible real resource. What causes objections to the future of nuclear power is the high costs of building reactors, public safety concerns, and the difficulty of safe disposal of high-radiation waste,” he added.

The official explained that the cost is relatively high in terms of building the reactor, but these costs are compensated over time, especially since the price of nuclear fuel is low.

He said that the NPPA and the Russian company that will implement the Dabaa nuclear plant, Rosatom, are committed to nuclear safety by taking a series of strict technical and administrative measures in accordance with international standards aimed at preventing incidents from occurring and controlling them and then limiting their consequences, which he described as in-depth defence.

Preventing accidents is the primary and ultimate objective of all those concerned with nuclear energy, he said, adding, the regulation of nuclear and radiological safety is a national responsibility and is the responsibility of the operator.