ABU DHABI // The country's nuclear programme is powering ahead as approval was given for further preparatory work to begin on the last two nuclear units for the coastal site of Barakah.
The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has been granted approval for additional civil works relating to Barakah reactors 3 and 4 by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation.
The approval means the two reactors are on schedule to begin commercial operation in 2019 and 2020, Enec said.
The works approved include preparations for pouring safety concrete on the reactor containment building and other structures.
This will pave the way for installing structural features such as steel plates and piping.
Enec will not be authorised to pour the concrete until it has had its building licence approved. This application was submitted last year and is being reviewed.
The green light for the first two units was given in July 2012.
Enec and its prime contractor, the Korea Electric Power Corporation, are building four reactors in Barakah in Al Gharbia.
The first two plants are on schedule and more than 35 per cent completed. They are scheduled to be finished in 2017 and 2018 .
By 2020 the four nuclear plants will be generating up to a quarter of the nation’s electricity supply.
jbell@thenational.ae
