THE UAE will become the first Gulf state to start constructing a nuclear power plant in the region, following the recent go-ahead given to the projects in Abu Dhabi both by the Environmental Agency – Abu Dhabi and the UAE nuclear regulator Federal Authority of Nuclear Regulation (FANR).

The UAE’s nuclear regulator has now granted a construction licence to Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) for the construction of the Opec member country’s first two nuclear reactors, which will be built by a South Korean-led consortium. The project is worth billions of dollars.

FANR said the construction licence was granted following thorough evaluation of 18 months and this project would avoid mistakes made in Japan (which suffered the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011).

“We have tried to learn as many lessons as we could from Fukushima, and we asked Enec to address the issue in a report, which they did,” said William Travers, director general of FANR.

In December 2009, the UAE awarded a group led by Korea Electric Power Corp (Kepco) a contract to build four nuclear reactors to meet surging demand for electricity.

The consortium plans to build and operate the 1,400 MW reactors; the first is expected to start operating in 2017, and the others by 2020.

Enec has been waiting for the licence before it starts pouring concrete for the first two reactors at the Barakah site, located on the west of UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi.

The licence granted was for the first two reactors but Travers said that applications for the others could come soon as well.

“This is up to Enec but we have been told informally to expect an application before the end of the calender year,” he said.

Enec’s preferred site, Barakah, which is located in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, was selected based on a variety critical factors including the environmental conditions at the site. The site is also located away from the UAE’s marine protected areas.