ABU DHABI - Egypt will issue a tender for its nuclear power plants in about two weeks time and bidding companies will be given six months to present their offers, its minister of electricity and energy said on Sunday.
The Arab world's most populous country is aiming to shift away from oil and gas to other sources and has said it wants to build four nuclear plants by 2025, with the first to start operating in 2019.
"The tender should be out by the end of January and is now being reviewed by the state council," Hassan Younes told Reuters in an interview in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi.
Officials hope the new nuclear programme will add capacity of up to 4,000 megawatts by 2025.
"We have received interest for the bid from companies in all parts of the world including France, the United States, China, Russia and Japan," said Younes.
The winner of the bid will be announced by the end of July or beginning of August 2012, he added.
The ministry had invited several firms for consultancy and project briefings, including French nuclear reactor maker Areva, engineering group Alstom and Westinghouse Electric Co, a U.S.-based unit of Japan's Toshiba.
In 2009, Egypt signed a deal with Australia's WorleyParsons for a nuclear power consultancy.
