The reactor pressure vessel (RPV) was successfully installed in its design position at Unit 2 of the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Egypt on 9 July 2026.
Now that this significant milestone has been reached, the countdown begins towards the nuclear plant’s physical start-up. This is when nuclear fuel is loaded into the reactor for the first time. The RPV at Unit 1 was installed in November 2025.
The RPV, which weighs more than 340 tonnes, is the core component of the reactor system. It houses the reactor core, where the controlled nuclear fission chain reaction takes place.
This part of the system is designed to withstand extremely high temperatures and pressure while maintaining complete containment. It plays a critical role in ensuring the unit’s safety and reliability.
During the installation operation, the RPV was placed at the centre of the reactor shaft using a 1,350-tonne heavy crawler crane. Installation was carried out with an accuracy of one-tenth of a millimetre.
The next major construction milestone at Unit 2 will be starting to weld the Main Coolant Pipeline.
Project implementation started 11 December 2017
El Dabaa NPP is being built in the city of El Dabaa in Matrouh Governorate on the Mediterranean coast, +300km NW of Cairo by Rosatom.
The plant will comprise four power units, each with a capacity of 1,200MW, equipped with Russian-designed Generation III+ VVER-1200 pressurised water reactors.
Russia and Egypt signed the Intergovernmental Agreement on cooperation in construction and operation of the first Egyptian NPP according to the Russian technologies in November 2015. [Please fill in the form to access the full Nuclear Energy Volume content.]
