Jordan Prepares Shortlist for Nuclear Power Development Contracts

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) plans to build two additional nuclear power plants in addition to another planned nuclear power facility in order to increase the country's nuclear generating capacity to as much as 60% of the domestic energy requirement by 2035. Jordan had a generating capacity of 2,322 MW in 2007, which grew to 2,670 MW in 2008.

JAEC is currently in discussions with three international consulting firms to determine who will identify the site for the country's first nuclear power plant, which will be built in a region southeast of Aqaba. The selected company will then carry out a two-year feasibility study to identify sites suitable for the two other proposed plants.

A company chosen from a list of 10 companies from Europe, the U.S. and Russia will handle the pre-construction phase of the first plant, estimated to have a generating capacity of between 750 and 1,000 megawatts (MW). JAEC will announce the winning bidder in mid-August of this year. The two additional plants are expected to generate a total of between 1,000 and 1,600 MW each and are likely to be constructed in the central region of Jordan.

Under an agreement to be signed between the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and JAEC, the two power plants will supply 726 MW of power for the Red-Dead Water Conveyance Project for water pumping and desalination, while the reactors will receive about 80 million cubic meters of water for cooling purposes.

Meanwhile, a company will be chosen in September of this year to construct Jordan's first nuclear research reactor, a 5-MW model that will be constructed at the Jordan University of Science and Technology. This unit will provide commercial services to offset the construction and continuing operational costs and is planned to be operational within 5 years.

By 2010, Jordan plans to have nuclear cooperation agreements in place with up to 11 countries. The country already has agreements in place with the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Kazakhstan, China, Russia and South Korea and hopes to sign agreements with Argentina, Romania and Spain this year. Jordan is in discussions with the U.S. with a view to signing an agreement in 2010. These agreements are aimed at helping Jordan develop its nuclear program through cooperative plans for nuclear technology, the supply of nuclear fuel, training and research.

Plans are also under way to explore the possibility of uranium mining in Jordan. Earlier this year, JAEC signed a memorandum of understanding with the British-Australian Rio Tinto Limited (ASX:RIO) (Melbourne, Australia) for uranium prospecting in Wadi Sahra Abyab in the southeast, Rweished in the northeast, and Wadi Bahiyya in the Mafraq region.

A similar agreement was signed in 2008 between JAEC and Areva SA (EPA:CEI) (Paris, France) for exploration in the central regions, which are thought to contain the majority of Jordan's uranium reserves. Estimates of the reserves range between 130,000 and 140,000 tons, with much of this being located just 1.5 meters below the ground surface. Earlier this month, reports from the exploration were said to be promising and indicated commercially viable quantities of uranium.

In yet another deal, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) (Beijing) expects that the first batch of uranium from Jordan, estimated to be about 700 tons, will be shipped to China in 2010.

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