Egypt's Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) has received a permit to build a spent nuclear fuel storage facility at the domestic El-Dabaa power plant, approximately 320km north-west of Cairo.

This facility is crucial for Egypt's expanding nuclear energy programme, designed to safely store atomic fuel waste, reported MENAFN.

Construction of the storage facility is set to begin this year.

It will be built in line with global safety and environmental standards.

Once constructed, the facility will utilise an advanced dry containment method, which enables the secure storage of nuclear waste for up to 100 years.

El-Dabaa is Egypt's first nuclear power plant and also represents the country's largest energy infrastructure project in decades.

Being developed in collaboration with Russia's Rosatom, the plant will include four VVER-1200 reactors, similar to those in Russia’s Saint Petersburg and Novovoronezh facilities and the Ostrovets plant in Belarus.

The commissioning of the first unit at the nuclear plant is expected to begin in 2026. The plant aims to become operational at full capacity with all four units by the end of this decade.

NPPA chair Amjad El-Wakeel described the permit as a significant milestone in Egypt's nuclear programme.

He also noted that the approval aligns with the project's timeline, indicating steady progress.

El-Wakeel said: "The authority has successfully secured the permit for the construction of the spent nuclear fuel storage facility at El-Dabaa.”

The permit application was submitted to Egypt's Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority (NRRA) on 12 June 2024.

The detailed design and technical documentation was reviewed by nuclear experts.

Following technical consultations between NPPA and NRRA specialists, the permit was approved during NRRA's seventh session on 31 December 2024.