There are legal differences between the two sides,” said Aktham Abulelah, the ministry spokesman, said. “We are ready to compromise as long as it’s all within the confines of the Egyptian law. The matter is in the hands of legal experts now and is not political.
Abulel said that the talks are still in progress to solve the differences. The talk of re-tendering the EGP1 billion contract for engineering and advisory services is a bit premature, Abulel said. The 10-year contract is for Egypt’s nuclear energy program.
Egypt also wants Bechtel to assume responsibility for all work in the program, which the company says would conflict with its role as consultant, media sources reported. Bechtel also objected to certain legal clauses the Egyptian ministry of electricity and energy said were legally mandatory.
