Construction Start in the United Arab Emirates

Construction of the first nuclear plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) started with the pouring of part of the base slab at the Barakah site on 19 July 2012, according to a press statement by the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC). This is the first of four 1400 MW proposed reactors that the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) plans to build at the site. Start-up is scheduled for one unit each year between 2017 and 2020. Cost estimates have risen to between $36 billion and « closer to $40 billion », according to the trade journal Nuclear Intelligence Weekly. The construction is launched despite uncertainties remaining over the financing.