South Korea’s KHNP To Support Operation Of UAE’s Barakah

25 Jul (NucNet): South Korea’s nuclear operator Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) has agreed to provide qualified personnel to support the future operation of the Barakah nuclear power station under construction in the United Arab Emirates, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) said. Under the agreement, about 400 KHNP experts will support Enec’s subsidiary Nawah Energy Company in the operation of the station, a statement said. The agreement will operate until 2030. The UAE is building four South Korean APR-1400 reactors at Barakah. In a separate statement, KHNP said the contract is worth about $600m (€546m) in service fees. According to KHNP, the agreement means it will be providing qualified operators and operating personnel in support to Enec for 10 years after the completion of the fourth and last unit at Barakah, estimated to be in 2020. Last week Enec said overall construction of Units 1 to 4 was more than 65 percent complete. The first unit is scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2017, pending regulatory approval.