United Arab Emirates Prepares for Construction of Country's First Nuclear Power Plant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Last December, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) awarded a $20.4 billion contract to a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) (KEPCO) (Seoul, South Korea) to develop a nuclear power plant in the UAE. This follows the technology agreement signed between the UAE and South Korea in 2009. In April of this year, ENEC selected a site for the country's first nuclear power plant, which will be near the Saudi border.

The Braqa Nuclear Power Station will be 53 kilometers southwest of the Persian Gulf town of Ruwais, in a largely uninhabited area of desert. Assuming the necessary authorization is acquired, civil-site construction will commence next month by KEPCO subsidiaries Korea Power Engineering Company Limited and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Company Limited. The $5 billion Phase I construction of the nuclear plant, which will be completed in 2017, consists of the plant's construction and the installation of an advanced pressurized nuclear reactor to drive four 350-megawatt (MW) steam turbine/generator sets to produce 1,400 MW.

The UAE's power demand is expected to increase an additional 40,000 MW by 2017 and double by 2020. Along with the plan to develop renewable energy, the UAE decided to begin developing nuclear power. Critics were concerned about the geographical proximity of the UAE to other countries that have not pledged full, unconditional transparency in their nuclear programs.

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