Russia may help Egypt build nuclear plant

CAIRO, April 10 (UPI) -- Moscow and Cairo may collaborate on Egypt's new plans to build nuclear power plants to fuel its electricity demand.

Russia's minister of energy and industry said Tuesday during a visit to Cairo the two sides are drafting a civilian nuclear power agreement.

Egypt announced in September it will restart its nuclear program, halted after the Chernobyl accident more than 20 years ago.

"The Federal Agency for Nuclear Power and Egypt's Ministry of Electricity and Energy are drafting new documents on cooperation in this field," said Minister Viktor Khristenko. "We believe this not only corresponds to the spirit of our relations, but is also in line with the understanding of prospects for energy development in the long term."

Russian news agency Novosti reports Egypt plans to build three 600 megawatt nuclear plants. Last September, Egyptian Energy Minister Hassan Younes said a 1,000-megawatt nuclear plant will be built along the Mediterranean coast.

The BBC reports Egypt's energy shortage has increased as consumption goes up by 7 percent annually on average.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has been investigating Egypt for not declaring atomic energy research. But both the IAEA and Egypt said the research wasn't for weapons purposes and said the failure could have resulted from miscommunication over what Egypt is required to report to international monitors.

Egypt has signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and is calling for a nuclear weapons-free Middle East. There are no official nuclear powers in the area, though Israel will not confirm or deny allegations it has amassed an arsenal.