UAE Korean-Style Nuclear Power Plant Begins Operation

Barakah Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, completed in March 2018

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] The first nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Barakah Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, began operation on the 1st (local time), according to local media.

According to foreign media such as Gulf News, the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant successfully started operation after undergoing a commissioning phase for the past five months. Commissioning is the process of loading the initial nuclear fuel, reaching criticality, and conducting various tests while increasing output.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister (Dubai leader), tweeted on the day, "We have successfully started operating the Arab world's first peaceful nuclear power plant," adding, "The goal is to operate all four nuclear reactors to reliably supply 25% of the UAE's required electricity."

The Barakah nuclear power project involves constructing four Korean-designed next-generation APR1400 reactors (total generation capacity of 5,060 MW) in the Barakah region, located 270 km west of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. The Korea Electric Power Corporation consortium won the project in December 2009 and began construction in July 2012. It attracted attention as South Korea's first overseas nuclear power plant.

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