Abu Dhabi has approved preliminary work on what the small Gulf nation hopes will be the first two power reactors in the Arab world.
The National, an English language newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, reported Wednesday that the UAE’s Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation has granted Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) permission to conduct excavation, piping and electrical work in preparation for the site’s first concrete.
Full construction still hinges on an application submitted in December 2010 for a license that Enec hopes to receive by July. The early site work was granted for two of four reactors envisioned for the Braka site about 180 miles west of Abu Dhabi. The first is scheduled to begin operating in 2017.
After an international bidding process, Enec chose to hire a Korean consortium led by KEPCO to build and fuel four APR-1400 reactors at the plant under a contract worth $20.4 billion, according to the World Nuclear Association. Other consortium members include Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Samsung, Doosan Heavy Industries and Westinghouse. The companies are also pursuing an additional $20 billion contract to operate the plant for 60 years.