Dina Ezzat wades through the conflicting views expressed following the announcement that Egypt is seeking to revive its civilian nuclear programme The furore caused by the National Democratic Party's (NDP) announcement that Egypt is seeking to revive its nuclear programme has yet to calm down. A week on and the debate still rages, with sceptics arguing that the declaration was no more than political grandstanding by Gamal Mubarak, the NDP's assistant secretary- general who, they insist, is seeking to garner support among the public by spearheading an ambitious national project. Yet others express undiluted enthusiasm for what they characterise as the timely and visionary proposal made during the fourth annual convention of the NDP. The most measured responses, as usual, come from between these two camps, and take the form of a reasoned scientific debate on the feasibility of reviving a nuclear programme abandoned two decades ago rather than on the manner of its announcement. The press has weighed in daily to offer the usual plethora of contradictory opinions leaving the public confused as to what is really going on. Some officials enthusiastically report that Egypt's first nuclear power station could be on line within 10 years of being given the go ahead while others suggest such a timetable is unrealistic, particularly given that the proposed site of the project, Al-Dabaa on the Mediterranean coast, has now been slated for tourism development, leading to suggestions that the new power station is more likely to be constructed in Sinai. That, in turn, has led to rumours of potential cooperation with Israel. Hussein, a Cairo taxi driver, is not the only member of the public who feels perplexed. "What is this nuclear business?" he asks. "Are we really going to have a peaceful nuclear programme and if so when? It seems like a good thing but I don't understand if we are actually going to do it." The situation may become clearer when President Hosni Mubarak chairs a meeting of the Supreme Council for Energy to examine the nuclear proposal made by the political party over which he presides. In the immediate wake of the NDP conference Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif chaired a meeting of the council to discuss the steps necessary towards reactivating Egypt's nuclear programme and the council's ad-hoc committee has already begun work on a preliminary feasibility study that will be presented to President Mubarak when he chairs a meeting of the council, expected within days. Ensuring clean and affordable energy supplies was included in Mubarak's platform during last year's presidential elections and as such has been a priority on the Nazif government's agenda for some time. In February the president chaired a meeting of the Supreme Council for Energy to examine government proposals and the follow up meeting, say sources, will review the nuclear option within the framework of the country's overall energy policy. "This is not strictly a meeting to discuss the nuclear option, although it will top the agenda. The meeting will assess energy policy in it entirety," said one official source. Sources stress that no final plan has been decided, let alone approved by the president. "We are still contemplating our needs, priorities and financial resources. We are also examining options to cooperate with foreign countries," said the source. The US has a long-standing commitment to help Egypt produce clean and affordable nuclear energy for civilian use and the issue was scheduled to be brought up -- if not extensively discussed -- during the talks President Mubarak held with visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday. Egypt has already concluded preliminary scientific cooperation agreements with China, Russia and South Korea which could help in reactivating its nuclear programme. President Mubarak is expected to visit Moscow and Beijing between 1 and 8 November. In Moscow he is expected to give the go ahead to a programme of Egyptian-Russian nuclear cooperation though Egyptian officials like to qualify that the programme is strictly technical. But while downplaying the significance of the agreement, officials do concede it is part of Egypt's attempts to secure technical support for its nuclear plans. "It must be made clear that we will explore all our options. The president is not going to Russia to start building nuclear power plant immediately," said one informed source. Egyptian officials expect little opposition should Egypt begin work on activating a peaceful nuclear programme. Indeed, the opposite seems true, with many confident any programme will receive international support. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit this week welcomed what he said were positive reactions from the international community towards Egypt's declaration of interest in restarting its nuclear programme. This positive response, the foreign minister suggested, is consistent with Egypt's commitment to the full terms of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty. Concerned officials say that it may well be a matter of months before Egypt embarks on preliminary building work for its first nuclear power plant. They affirm that there can be no retreating from Egypt's decision to examine the nuclear option given growing demand for electricity and the economic and technological drawbacks of generating adequate supplies using alternative sources such as solar energy. Egypt, they insist, cannot continue to consume oil and gas resources at the current rate indefinitely. The fears that followed the 1986 Chernobyl disaster are no longer valid, say energy experts, who point to improved safety measures that allow a country like Egypt to safely opt to revive a peaceful nuclear programme. Experts and retired officials agree that the biggest challenge now facing the programme is to win over Egypt's nuclear scientists -- many of whom, after years of frustration, now work on foreign nuclear programmes. The issue of developing qualified human resources is expected to be discussed during Mubarak's meeting with the Supreme Council for Energy.
