CAIRO, April 13 Egypt has reiterated its desire for a civilian nuclear power program as part of the country's energy mix.Electricity and Energy Minister Hasan Yunis said Thursday nuclear power, along with wind and solar energy, would be alternatives to traditional sources of energy, the official MENA news service reported.He said setting up a nuclear station would take two years, as it would in any developed state, and pointed out that Cairo had begun talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, on the issue.Last September, Egypt announced it will restart its nuclear program, halted more than 20 years ago.News reports say Egypt plans to build three 600 megawatt nuclear plants, and last September Yunis said a 1,000-megawatt nuclear plant will be built along the Mediterranean coast.Copyright 2007 by UPI
