Egypt-Russia agreement to build first nuclear plant

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Xiamen, Fujian province, China, on Monday. (AP)

CAIRO: Russian media say Egypt has finalized a deal to build a nuclear power plant with funding from Moscow after nearly two years of negotiations.
The reports Monday came after Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China, where they were attending a summit.
The nuclear plant will be built in Dabaa, about 130 km northwest of Cairo on the Mediterranean coast.
Egypt’s presidency says El-Sisi has invited Putin to Egypt to mark the start of construction.
In 2015, Egypt signed an agreement with Russia to build a four-reactor power plant. It will receive a $25 billion Russian loan to cover 85 percent of the plant, with a capacity of 4,800 MW.