UAE nuclear programme edges toward 2018 launch

Abu Dhabi - The Barakah plant is expected to meet 25 per cent of its power needs by 2020

At first glance, the long hallway seems abandoned. But behind glass walls, in soundproof offices, engineers and physicists are putting the final touches to the Arab world's first nuclear programme.
At the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) in Abu Dhabi, dozens of employees are reviewing the 15,000-page application for the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, scheduled to launch next year.
The Barakah plant will make the UAE the first Gulf state to have a peaceful nuclear energy programme.
By 2020, the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program will be in full gear, with four nuclear reactors providing nearly 25 per cent of the UAE's electricity needs, according to the state-run Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC).
The first reactor was initially set to start generating power in 2017, but ENEC recently announced its inauguration would be delayed until 2018 for technical reasons.
"We received the application for reactor one in March 2015 and since then we have been studying it," said Christer Viktorsson, director general at the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation which oversees regulation and licensing for the UAE's nuclear programme.
"It's a massive application," he told AFP. "There are a few areas where we still have questions."
"We have to verify... that they have security plans, like emergency plans, and if an accident happens they can deal with it."
In the FANR offices, 300 kilometres west of the Barakah plant, Emirati and foreign employees are busy with licensing paperwork in a bid to meet next year's deadline.
ENEC in April reported construction of the plant's four units had been 80 per cent completed, with reactor one at 95 per cent completion.
Operations teams and contingency plans are also in place, according to ENEC, and Viktorsson says he has "no doubt" that the company will meet the 2018 launch date.
Much of the construction of the $25-billion (21.2-billion-euro) Barakah plant has been outsourced to the Korea Electric Power Corporation, the largest electric utility in South Korea, which won the project over French multinational group AREVA.
"The Barakah nuclear power plant will play an important role for the UAE's economic development and will be a role model for the other Arab countries, proving that nuclear power can be used for peaceful purposes," said a South Korean diplomat in the UAE, requesting anonymity.
"We don't think the nuclear power plant will cause any problems in the region," he added.
Officials in the UAE say their programme will not add fuel to fire in the region.
"Our country is and will remain a forerunner," a UAE official said on condition of anonymity.

UAE ally Saudi Arabia has also said it aims to develop a peaceful nuclear energy programme.
 

UAE nuclear programme

The United Arab Emirates aims to join the list of states with a nuclear power programme by 2018. Here are some key facts:

- Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC)
ENEC is leading the UAE peaceful nuclear energy programme. Founded in 2009, the state-run ENEC is also an investment branch of the Abu Dhabi government and oversees local and international investment in the nuclear programme.
- Nawah Energy Company (Nawah)
Established in 2016, Nawah is jointly owned by ENEC and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), which has been contracted to build much of the UAE's Barakah nuclear power plant. Nawah will operate and maintain the four reactors at Barakah.
- Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR)
* Like ENEC, FANR is a government agency that was set up in 2009. FANR is tasked with overseeing licensing, regulation and security for the Barakah plant.
* KEPCO won a $20.4-billion contract in 2009 to start building the Barakah plant.
* Another 1,400 local sub-contractors were granted an estimated $3 billion worth of projects.
* Six multinational companies, including French group AREVA, also landed $3 billion in contracts to supply nuclear fuel over the next 15 years.
* The UAE estimates its electricity needs will top 40,000 megawatts by the year 2020.
* The Barakah plant is expected to meet 25 per cent of its power needs by 2020.
* Barakah houses four APR-1400 water pressurised reactors, designed by KEPCO. Each reactor has a production capacity of 1,400 megawatts and a design life of 60 years.
* More than one million tonnes of concrete were used in building the four reactors.
* More than 250,000 tonnes of reinforced concrete were also used in the project.
* ENEC employs 1,700 people and will expand its workforce to 2,500 employees by 2020.
* The company says it aims to reserve 60 per cent of its jobs for UAE nationals.

• Abu Dhabi