Unit 3 of Egypt's El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant Completes Reactor Pit Bottom Plate Installation

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 26, the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority announced that Unit 3 of the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant had completed the installation of the lower bottom plate of the reactor pit. This component is a key internal structure of the VVER-1200 reactor pit. The installation work was supervised and inspected by the Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority team and carried out in coordination with Atomstroyexport, the Russian general contractor for the project.

This installation follows the completion of the dry shielding installation for Unit 3 on August 28 and is a subsequent key installation step before the reactor pressure vessel is put in place. The officially disclosed construction sequence includes the installation of the core catcher, concrete construction of the support and anchorage structures, installation of the dry shielding and the thermal insulation layer for the cylindrical section of the pressure vessel, installation of the support ring, and this reactor pit bottom plate installation.

The reactor pit bottom plate is a cylindrical steel component weighing approximately 13.85 tons, with a diameter of 5,465 millimeters and a length of 3,820 millimeters. It is installed in conjunction with the dry shielding structure, which has an inner diameter of 5,650 millimeters. This component is located between the internal structure of the reactor pit and the pressure vessel, and is used to complete the vertical axis alignment of the pressure vessel installation position and participates in the assembly of the reactor pit internal structure.

The next major installation milestone for Unit 3 is the positioning of the reactor pressure vessel. The pressure vessel is approximately 13 meters long, approximately 4.5 meters in diameter, and weighs approximately 320 tons. The Egyptian side has made it clear that after the reactor pit bottom plate installation is completed, the site will continue preparations for the pressure vessel installation.

The El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant adopts Russia's Generation III VVER-1200 pressurized water reactor technology, with Atomstroyexport serving as the general contractor for the project. On September 26, Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy also discussed with Rosatom matters including project equipment manufacturing, preparations for grid connection, and the receipt of nuclear fuel in 2027. At present, the relevant construction and operation preparation work is being advanced in parallel.