Nuclear energy in Egypt

The Egyptian nuclear power program was started in 1954. The first nuclear reactor was acquired from the Soviet Union in 1961. It was opened by Gamal Abdel Nasser and it has power of 2 MWe and located at Inchass, Nile Delta.^[1] The disposal of its spent fuel was controlled by Soviets.

Indeed, during this period, the Egyptian government dramatically increased its investment and research into nuclear technologies. It attempted quite persistently, for example, to acquire a sizeable power reactor" and was notably insistent that it be a natural uranium fueled heavy water-moderated reactor rather than a light water reactor. While such reactors obviate the necessity of purchasing or producing enriched uranium, they are notable from a proliferation standpoint for being better producers than light water reactors "in both quantity and quality" of weapons useable plutonium. However, initially promising discussions with Siemens (for a heavy water reactor), and later Westinghouse (for a light water reactor), ultimately fell apart.

Additionally, Egypt began to press the nuclear issue as part of its bilateral and multilateral talks. Numerous reports allege that Egypt explicitly requested either nuclear weapons or assistance in making them from countries such as the Soviet Union, China, and India. Furthermore, Nasser's pan-Arab ambitions increasingly included mention of nuclear weapons. "At several Arab League meetings in the 1960s, Egypt proposed a pan-Arab nuclear program to match Israel's, hosted by Egypt and financially supported by other members..." None of these diplomatic initiatives are known to have borne fruit.

Interestingly, there does not appear ever to have been an unambiguous top-level political commitment to a domestic program to build nuclear weapons." Despite occasional rhetorical indications of proliferation intent, Egypt's leadership never allocated the financial resources and political capital necessary to the success of a weapons program. This suggests that while Nasser and other Egyptian policymakers explored the proliferation option at the rhetorical level, actual development of a nuclear weapons capability was never a national priority. As the 2008 IISS report notes, "Tellingly, he [Nasser] never established a separate budget for nuclear-weapons development.

In 1964, a 150 MWe and in 1974 a 600 MWe nuclear power stations were proposed. The Nuclear Power Plants Authority (NPPA) was established in 1976, and in 1983 the El Dabaa site on the Mediterranean coast was selected.^[2] Egypt's nuclear plans were frozen after the Chernobyl accident. In 2006, Egypt announced it will revive its civilian nuclear power programme, and within next 10 years to build a 1,000 megawatt nuclear power station at El Dabaa. It estimated to cost US$1.5bn, and it will be constructed in participation of foreign investors.^[3] In March 2008, Egypt signed with Russia an agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.^[4]

The Nuclear program was then rejected just after the defeat by Israel in the Six-day War in 1967 and the weakening of the Egyptian economy.

In 1968 Egypt signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but postponed ratifying it under evidences that Israel had undertaken nuclear weapon program.

Consequently, the country lost many of its nuclear experts and scientists who had to travel abroad to seek work opportunities. Some of them joined the Iraqi nuclear program and others emigrated to Canada.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Nuclear Weapons Program fas.org
2. ^ "Emerging Nuclear Energy Countries". World Nuclear Association. April 2009. http://world-nuclear.org/info/inf102.html. Retrieved 2009-04-22. 
3. ^ "Egypt unveils nuclear power plan". BBC. 2006-09-25. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5376860.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-04. 
4. ^ "Middle Eastern nations do nuclear diplomacy". World Nuclear News. 2008-03-25. http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Middle_Eastern_nations_do_nuclear_diplomacy_250308.html. Retrieved 2008-05-18. 

• FAS - Egypt Nuclear Program
• NTI - Egypt Profile
• The nuclear tipping point: why states reconsider their nuclear choices
• Egypt Will Go Nuclear: Mubarak
• Mubarak decides on the site of Egypt's first nuclear power plant
• WikiLeaks: Egypt ‘turned down’ black-market nuclear weapons deal
• Egypt says may seek atomic arms if Iran does: WikiLeaks cables