Egypt's Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy dismissed on Tuesday media reports of conflicts between Egypt and Russia over the development of the Dabaa nuclear power plant. Ministry spokesman Ayman Hamza said that negotiations with the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation (Rosatom) were progressing well in an atmosphere of mutual understanding, in statements reported by state-owned news agency MENA. Hamza added that a draft of the plant's main contract has been concluded, and that drafts of the rest of the contracts related to the project are being finalised. According to the spokesman, all contracts will be signed in the early months of 2017. Cairo and Moscow were scheduled to ink the deal in December according to Egyptian and Russian sources. In November 2015, the Egyptian government signed an agreement with Russia to have Rosatom build Egypt's first nuclear power plant at Dabaa, located in the country's Marsa Matrouh governorate. The project will include four units, each capable of producing 1,200 megawatts of energy. According to the draft agreement, Russia will loan Egypt the $25 billion needed to finance the building and operation of the plant. Egypt would pay the loan back at an interest rate of three percent annually, with installment payments beginning in 2029.
