Kepco signs world’s largest operation deal for UAE nuclear plants

Korea’s state-run power company signed the world’s largest deal for operating nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates, the company said Thursday.

Korea Electric Power Corp. CEO Cho Hwan-eik and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation CEO Mohamed Al Hammadi agreed to jointly make investment for an operation company that will run four nuclear power plants in Barakah, 270 kilometers west of Abu Dahbi, UAE. 

With an injection of $900 million into the operation company, Korea is expected to draw $49.4 billion of sales for the next 60 years for running the nuclear plants. The economic effect is projected to be equivalent to exporting 2.2 million vehicles or 52 million smartphones, the company said.

The four nuclear power plants are currently under construction by Kepco. In December 2009, the Korean state-run company won the first-ever overseas nuclear power plant contract to build four plants with capacity of 5,600 megawatts in the UAE. The amount of the order was $18.6 billion.

Launched in January 2010, the construction was about 68 percent completed, as of June this year. The first plant will be completed in 2017, with the last one by 2020, Kepco said.

“(The company) will do its best to make the world’s best nuclear plant project that will be trusted for the next 60 years. It is meaningful that Korea’s excellent human resources are injected not only to the plant construction but also to the operation, thereby building a long-term partnership with the UAE and strengthening the ties,” said Cho.

Kepco will soon sign another contract to dispatch nuclear power plant repairmen for the next 10 years. Along with the previous contract made in July to provide operational support, the nuclear power plant project is projected to bring about 1,000 new jobs, it added. 

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)