5 Sep (NucNet): A feasibility study on the construction of the first commercial nuclear power plant in Jordan is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017, Sergei Kiriyenko, director-general of Russia’s state nuclear energy corporation, said. Mr Kiriyenko said the study will “answer questions about financial backing” for the project. The ASE Group, Rosatom’s engineering division, plans to hold negotiations with the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) this year to finalise the key points of an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract for construction of the plant, Rosatom told NucNet. The key points of the proposed EPC contract were submitted to the JAEC in 2015. In September 2014, Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom signed a pre-investment contract for the construction in Jordan of two VVER-1000 units with an electrical power output of 1,000 MW each. In March 2015, Rosatom and the JAEC signed an intergovernmental agreement for construction of the units. Commercial operation of the first unit is scheduled for 2022, Rosatom said. It is planned that 51% of the joint venture will belong to Jordan and 49% to Russia, Rosatom said. The cost of the project is put at around $10bn (€9bn).
