Moscow-based Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) is keen to build a desalination plant in Egypt's North Sinai, first deputy CEO Kirill Komarov said Thursday. During a meeting with Mounir Fakhry Abdel El-Nour - Egyptian Minister of Industry and Trade, Komarov expressed Rosatom's keenness to establish the desalination plant and an affiliated factory in North Sinai with direct Russian investments. Minister Abdel Nour had met Thursday with Komarov in Saint Petersburg during his participation in its International Economic Forum, which is known as Russia's Davos. Abdel Nour held talks with the Russian official over Rosatom's participation in building a power-generating nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes in El Dabaa, lies 295.9 kilometres (183.9 miles) away from Cairo Airport, Cairo on the north coast. In February, Egypt and Russia agreed to build a nuclear power plant together and officials from both countries have signed a memorandum of understanding on the proposed project. Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy "agreed to launch detailed discussions on the prospective project," Rosatom said in a statement February this year. Rusatom Overseas and Egyptian Nuclear Power Plants Authority had signed a project development agreement for a nuclear power plant with a desalination facility. Sergey Kirienko, Rosatom director general, said the agreement provides for the construction of two nuclear power units, with the prospect of a further two. "In a very short period of time, we need to prepare for the signing of two intergovernmental agreements - one on nuclear power plant construction and one on financing. During the negotiations, we have been set the task to perform at maximum speed, and Rosatom is ready for that."
