Barakah nuclear power plant
The Barakah nuclear power plant (Arabic: محطة بركة للطاقة النووية ) (BNPP) is the United Arab Emirates' first nuclear power station, the first nuclear power station in the Arabian Peninsula, the second in the Persian Gulf region and the first commercial nuclear power station in the Arab World. It consists of four APR-1400 nuclear reactors. Total nameplate capacity is 5600 MW[ 2] which is intended to supply up to 25% of UAE's electricity needs.[ 3] [ 4] The site is in the Gharbiya region of Abu Dhabi, on the coastline between the Persian Gulf and the E11 highway, 50 km west of Ruwais.
In December 2009, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) awarded a coalition led by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) a $20 billion bid to build the first nuclear power plant in the UAE. Barakah was chosen as the site to build four APR-1400 nuclear reactors successively, with the first scheduled to start supplying electricity in 2017.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7]
In 2011, Bloomberg reported that following detailed finance agreements, the build cost was put at $30 billion and financed with $10 billion equity, $10 billion export-credit agency debt, and $10 billion from bank and sovereign debt. South Korea may earn a further $20 billion from operation, maintenance and fuel supply contracts.[ 8] A later Bloomberg report indicates the price as $25 billion.[ 9]
