First four nuclear reactors will all be built at one site

Abu Dhabi: The UAE's first four nuclear reactors will be built on one site, a spokesman for the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) said on Wednesday, adding the selected site will be announced "soon".

"We are studying a number of potential sites but the first group will be on one site," Fahd Al Qah'tani, spokesman for Enec told Gulf News on the sidelines of an International Atomic Energy Association conference here.

Sources close to Enec said the site will likely be close to the water, mirroring the latest generation of South Korea's Shin-Kori reactors now under construction. Mohammad Al Hammadi, Chief Executive of Enec, had said his organisation is considering ten locations for the plants.

Al Qah'tani said the value of the contract remains at $20.4 billion (Dh75 billion) despite press reports that have put it as high as $40 billion. Reports by South Korea's semi-official Arirang News quoted the latter figure as recently as March 10.

"Enec is doing everything it can to ensure accurate communication," Al Qah'tani said. "The value of the contract is the same as was announced in December."

He added the contract's stipulation for the consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Company (Kepco) to "help operate" the power plants refers to helping Enec in the operation of the plants.

Analysts had speculated the discrepancy in reporting the contract value could mean Enec intended to award an additional operation contract in the future.

The Kepco-led consortium will likely have the advantage in bidding for future plants if it proves efficient in the initial project, said an energy analyst who declined to be identified.

Largest contract

In December, Kepco beat French and American-Japanese consortiums for the UAE deal, the largest one-time contract ever awarded. The first of the four units is scheduled to begin providing electricity to the grid in 2017, with the three other units being completed by 2020.

By 2020 the UAE's electricity demand is expected to reach 40,000MW, an annual increase of about 9 per cent. Current production capacity is about 16,000MW.