CAIRO: The Egyptian government called on the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send an expert to review a nuclear plant planned to be constructed in Dabaa. The government made the request on Thursday, asking an expert to review the technical conditions of the plant following the recent nuclear disaster in Japan, caused by earthquakes and tsunamis. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy and the nuclear authority asked the IAEA to send an expert, reported state news agency MENA. Minister of Electricity Hassan Younis was quoted as saying the review is especially needed as a precautionary step in light of the Japanese disaster at Fukushima. “After the Japanese crisis, there are lessons to be learnt and updates to be made,” the spokesman of the Ministry, Aktham Abul Ela, told Reuters by phone. Ela said there will be no changes to the site of the plant, but rather “precautionary installments on its structure in case of an earthquake, even though the plant is a third-generation model with passive safety systems, and not first-generation as in the case of Fukushima.” He told Reuters that there would not be any changes to the site of the plant, but rather precautionary installments on its building in case of an earthquake, even though it's a third-generation model with passive safety systems, and not first-generation as in the case of Fukushima,” he said. Egypt wants to build four nuclear plants by 2025 to help shift from energy dependency on oil and gas to other sources. In March, Younis gave orders to go for a tender to build the plant in Dabaa, on the Mediterranean coast, with operation set to begin in 2019. BM
