IAEA Director General highlights Emirates' strong development of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), wished to congratulate the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for having managed to complete and launch the first crucial phase of Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant; a true milestone in the Arab nuclear sector.

In statements collected by the Emirate news agency WAM, Grossi affirmed the IAEA's support to the Emirates in the establishment of nuclear energy. "The IAEA supports the UAE and other countries that opt for the introduction of nuclear power, which plays a key role in achieving clean and affordable energy and in combating climate change," he said.

The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi is the first peaceful atomic energy plant in the Arab world, and its first unit began operating "successfully," according to the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC). 

ENEC is building four nuclear reactors in Barakah, with work beginning in 2013, and once they are up and running with all their units, they will produce about 5.6 GW of electricity, generating up to 25 per cent of UAE's electricity demand.

It was recently reported that the construction of Unit 2 was completed, while Units 3 and 4 are in their final stages, with the infrastructure already almost 95 per cent complete. An initiative that includes the South Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), ENEC's partner in the joint venture associated with the project, which has been a feat of engineering with the participation of 18,000 people.