Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Essmat affirmed that the seawater desalination project in the Dabaa area is not intended solely to meet the water needs of the Dabaa nuclear power plant, but it represents an integrated development project serving Dabaa and surrounding areas.
He said the project would provide a sustainable source of desalinated water to support development plans, urban expansion, and economic and industrial activities in the area.The Ministry of Electricity said in a statement on Wednesday August 26,2026 that Essmat made the remarks during a meeting with officials of the infrastructure company affiliated with Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation in the presence of Rosatom Deputy Director General Petrov and a number of officials and specialists from both sides to discuss the latest developments and implementation plans for the project.
Essmat stressed the importance of implementing the project based on an integrated vision that goes beyond desalinated water production to maximizing its added value, localizing related technologies and industries, and achieving economic benefits from desalination byproducts, while serving development plans in Dabaa and surrounding areas.
As part of efforts to maximize the project’s economic returns, the meeting discussed localizing industries, components and equipment supplying seawater desalination projects in Egypt, as well as enhancing the participation of local companies and industry in the project’s supply chains.
Such efforts would contribute to technology transfer and localization, develop Egypt’s industrial capabilities, gradually increase the local component, and pave the way for establishing a specialized industrial base capable of meeting the needs of desalination projects in Egypt and eventually expanding into regional markets.
The meeting also discussed maximizing the economic and environmental benefits of the desalination system by studying and utilizing salts and minerals extracted from the desalination process, potentially enabling the establishment of industries and projects for salt extraction and maximizing the added value of these byproducts, in accordance with specialized technical and economic studies.
The meeting reviewed the project’s technical and implementation aspects and followed up on the steps required to establish an integrated seawater desalination system, while benefiting from the latest technologies and specialized expertise available through Rosatom and its subsidiaries.
The sides also discussed the project’s implementation timeline, coordination mechanisms between Egyptian and Russian teams, and technical studies and designs, in addition to opportunities for cooperation in expertise and technology transfer, training and qualification of Egyptian personnel to work at various stages of the project.
For his part, Rosatom’s Deputy Director General affirmed the corporation’s and its subsidiaries’ commitment to continuing cooperation with the Egyptian side and providing the expertise and technological solutions required to implement the project, while exploring opportunities to deepen industrial cooperation, transfer technology and develop local capabilities in seawater desalination.
The meeting comes as part of ongoing follow-up of the various components of the Dabaa nuclear power plant project and efforts to maximize the benefits of Egyptian-Russian cooperation in support of Egypt’s drive to implement integrated infrastructure and sustainable development projects, maximize the use of natural resources, localize related technologies and industries, and enhance the participation of Egyptian industry in national projects.