GE bags contract for turbine islands for $30bn El Dabaa nuclear power plant

AAEM, a joint venture of GE Power and Atomenergomash, has secured a contract to provide turbine island equipment for the 4.8GW El Dabaa nuclear power plant, which is being built with an investment of $30 billion in Egypt.

El Dabaa, which is the first ever nuclear power plant in Egypt, is being constructed 6km from El Dabaa town in Matrouh Governorate on the Mediterranean coast, 250km west of Alexandria.

GE Power and Atomenergomash were given the contract for the turbine island equipment by DEZ on behalf of Atomstroyexport, a general contractor for the Egyptian nuclear power plant.

Atomstroyexport is a subsidiary of Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom), which is also the parent company of Atomenergomash.

ROSATOM holds responsibility for the construction of the El Dabaa nuclear power plant with Egypt’s Nuclear Power Plant Authority (NPAA) being the owner and operator.

El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant

The El Dabaa nuclear power plant will consist of four VVER-1200 nuclear reactors, each with a capacity of 1.2GW. The first unit of the Egyptian nuclear power plant is expected to enter into commercial operations in 2026, while the remaining three reactors are aimed to be brought into service in 2028.

According to the El Dabaa nuclear plant contract, GE Power and Atomenergomash will handle the basic design of four conventional islands, supply of four nuclear turbine generator sets, including the Arabelle half-speed turbines, apart from giving technical expertise for the on-site installation and commissioning. Also included in the contract are GIGATOP 4-pole generators, condensers and certain auxiliary equipment.

GE Power says that the Arabelle steam engines will ensure the El Dabaa nuclear power plant to generate reliable, dependable and CO2 free power to over four million Egyptian homes.

GE Power’s Arabelle steam engines to be used in El Dabaa nuclear power plant. Photo courtesy of General Electric.

Andreas Lusch – CEO of GE’s Steam Power, commenting on the turbine island equipment contract for the El Dabaa nuclear power plant, said: “As Egypt works to diversify its energy production and to support its growing economy, the El Dabaa nuclear power plant, equipped with GE Power’s Arabelle technology, will help Egypt deliver on their ambitious goals.

“Today, the Arabelle is helping to deliver more than 20GW of power around the world and we will leverage this experience and know-how to deliver reliable, dependable and CO2 free energy to the Egyptian grid.”

Atomenergomash, on the other hand, expects Russia to manufacture more than half of the turbine island equipment needed for the Egyptian nuclear power plant.

Commenting on the turbine island equipment contract for the El Dabaa nuclear power plant, Ilya Vergizaev – General Director of AAEM, said: “I am positive that eleven-year long cooperation of Atomenergomash Engineering Division and GE Power in developing the joint venture’s high-tech competencies both in the field of engineering nuclear turbine island equipment and in development of advanced production technologies, will provide a principled framework for successful implementation of this project.”