The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) said it has achieved yet another milestone in the development of the country’s first nuclear energy plant, with the successful installation of its Unit Three Reactor Vessel (RV) at Barakah.

The installation is a critical step in the continued progress and delivery of the country’s third nuclear energy unit and follows the successful installation of the Barakah Unit Two RV in 2015 and the Unit One RV in 2014, said Enec.

The reactor vessel is one of the most important features and largest components in a nuclear energy plant, it stated. Weighing over 400 tonnes and measuring almost 15 m in height, the RV will eventually contain the controlled nuclear reaction that will generate the safe, clean and reliable nuclear energy that will feed into the UAE grid.

Meanwhile, Enec has signed an operating support services agreement (OSSA) for the Barakah nuclear power plant with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) 

Under the agreement, KHNP will dispatch an estimated 400 experienced and qualified personnel to the plant including main control room operators and local operators, to support Enec’s subsidiary Nawah Energy Company (Nawah).

The construction of the plant is scheduled for completion in 2020. Overall, construction of Units One to Four is now more than 66 per cent complete.