Huge gas finds postpone atomic power generation

Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Energy Hassan Younis said that Egypt didn't give up its program to generate power from atomic energy, but it postponed the program following the available huge gas finds which enable the country to set up giant power stations.

Younis made these remarks in a meeting yesterday with members of the Syndicate of Journalists under Chairman Galal Aref.

"Since it was predicted in the early 1980s that the nation's oil reserves would be used up in ten years, it was necessary to search for resources to produce electricity," Younis said, referring to the natural gas net-work covering the Delta, Cairo and the northern half of Upper Egypt, where 62 percent of the electricity supply is generated by gas-fired power stations.

Atomic energy is far more expensive than fossil fuels, but natural gas is environment-friendly, Younis added.