The United Arab Emirates granted the first construction permit for a commercial nuclear plant in an Arab country Wednesday, greenlighting a project planned to encompass four reactors producing 5.6 gigawatts.
The Middle Eastern government's Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation granted a permit for the first two units to Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation Wednesday after an environmental agency gave its approval a few days earlier. The company wasted no time, planning to pour the first concrete for the plant at Baraka the same day, according to Emirati publication The National.
Following bids from several companies, ENEC selected a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Co. to build four APR-1400 reactors under a contract worth $20.4 billion, plus an expected $20 billion to help operate the reactors for 60 years, according to the World Nuclear Association.
About 5,000 workers already live near the construction site, The National reported, where a concrete plant that can produce 600 cubic yards per hour was previously used to build two towns to house them.