Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned Rosatom, announced on Sunday that three Egyptian contracting companies won a tender offer for the construction of the first phase of Egypt’s Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The three Egyptian companies that competed among 10 others to win the bid were Petrojet, Hassan Allam, and the Arab Contractors. Meanwhile, the company plans to issue another tender this year to complete the rest of construction work, it said in a statement of which Asharq Al-Awsat obtained a copy. Rosatom said it is keen to involve local Egyptian companies in the project development, with Egyptian companies selected through tenders that adhere to the utmost integrity and transparency. According to Atomstroyexport Vice President Grigory Sosnin, who is also the director of the Dabaa nuclear project, “the presence of local companies is one of our utmost priorities, and therefore we are keen to work with local suppliers in all of our projects.” Dependence on Egyptian companies during the process of building the plant will go up by 20 percent with the construction of each reactor unit, especially as local companies gain experience. Earlier this month, Atomstroyexpor organized a training course for Egyptian engineers in the western Russian city of Kursk. The course tackles the construction of the nuclear power plant Kursk II in Russia, which began in 2018, and plans for the upcoming Dabaa nuclear power plant. Egypt, in cooperation with Russia, is building a 4,800 megawatt (MW) capacity plant at the Dabaa region on the countrys northern coast, targeting an experimentally operating of the first reactor of the planet by 2026. Ministers from both countries inked a $21 billion deal to start work on the Dabaa nuclear power plant in December 2017. Rosatom said the Dabaa nuclear station will have four reactors and cost up to $21 billion.