Several Western and Asian states have sent funding offers to Egypt's Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) in hopes of financing the country's nascent nuclear program--which is designed for electricity generation--in advance of an international bid. Egypt is expected to begin accepting bids for the project by the end of this year. According to NPPA sources, Western companies are competing with Asian counterparts for the project. The sources pointed out that the bids reflected international confidence in the Egyptian project, adding that meetings had already been held with representatives of Germany's Siemens and prominent US firms such as Westinghouse. The same sources explained that the NPPA's executive manager had met with officials from France's Areva on Tuesday as part of a cooperation agreement with the company in the fields of personnel training and technical assistance. Asian companies competing for the bid, meanwhile, include Mitsubishi and Hitachi, along with firms from Russia, China and South Korea. The sources inisted that the bidding process would guarantee transparency, noting that the international attitude toward Egypt was marked by trust in the peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program, which is supported by the fact that Egypt is signatory to nuclear non-proliferation treaties. Hisham Fouad, former director of the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority, for his part, said he disagreed with those that attack the choice of Dabaa as the site for the future power plant. He argued that many nuclear power plants in the US and Europe were situated in the middle of residential areas. Fouad went on to stress that setting up the project in another location would require a minimum of five years at much greater financial cost. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
