Russia to bid for nuclear energy projects in Egypt: official

Russia plans to join a tender to build nuclear power plants in Egypt, a Russian official said on Thursday.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in September proposed reviving the country's nuclear energy program after a two-decade freeze.

Egypt has announced plans to build four nuclear power plants and the Egyptian president said a company would be selected through a tender for their construction, Boris Alyoshin, head of the Federal Industry Agency, said after talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mubarak in the Kremlin.

"We will definitely take part in the tender. I think we have a pretty good chance of winning," Alyoshin was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

Mubarak was in Moscow on a three-day visit as part of his three- nation tour that will also take him to China and Kazakhstan. He met with Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov to discuss expanding economic and trade ties.

Alyoshin also said Egypt was ready to allocate a vast piece of land for Russian companies to start high-tech business.

Source: Xinhua