Coastal site 300km from capital chosen for UAE's nuclear plants

Abu Dhabi: Braka, a site on the Arabian Gulf about 75 kilometres from the Saudi border on Emirates Road and 300 kilometres from Abu Dhabi, was selected yesterday to house the UAE's first four nuclear plants.

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, the agency in charge of developing the UAE's nuclear programme, said it has filed an environmental assessment and two licence applications to prepare the site to the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (Fanr). Enec said it requested a reply by July 5.

Once approved, Enec said it would work to submit the construction licence application for the first two plants by the end of the year. Construction of the first reactor is scheduled to begin in late 2012 for the facility to enter service in 2017.

"The selection of our preferred site is the result of an evaluation process that meets or exceeds international standards," Mohammad Al Hammadi, chief executive officer of Enec, said in a statement. "The evaluation has provided an extensive amount of information which Enec has used in its determination of where in the UAE we can locate the nuclear power plants in the safest manner."

Among the most important factors in selecting Braka was its close proximity to the water and the existing power grid, its distance from large population centres, and its stable seismic history, Enec said in its statement.

Last month, Korea Electric Power Company (Kepco) awarded a $5.59 billion (Dh20.6 billion) contract to Hyundai Engineering and Construction and Samsung C&T for the construction of the four plants. The companies were already members of the consortium that won Enec's $20.4 billion contract in December, beating two Japanese-American and French alliances.

By 2020 the UAE's electricity demand is expected to reach 40,000 megawatts, an annual increase of about 9 per cent.

With a current production capacity of about 16,000 MW, the government has said the nuclear option presents the most sustainable alternative to oil to power future growth.