Construction has been completed for a 5 MW research reactor in Jordan, the government said Wednesday. It is the first reactor in the country that also has ambitions to build a commercial power reactor for domestic electricity supply.
The research and training reactor at the Jordan University for Science & Technology, was constructed by a consortium that included the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute and Daewoo. The cost is being reported by South Korean media as around $160 million. Similar to the HANARO heavy water reactor in South Korea, the new unit will use 19 percent enriched fuel and have the potential to increase capacity to 10 MW, according to the World Nuclear Association.
The reactor was financed with help fro a $70 million loan from South Korea. Jordan, meanwhile, has ambitions to construct a VVER-1000/V-382 unit with 1060MWe gross with construction tentatively to start in 2018 and take five years to build. Other commercial reactors are also planned for the country with limited water supply and no current uranium mining.
The new reactor will be used to produce radioisotopes for medical and industrial uses.