22 Mar (NucNet): Yemen is preparing the “pre-requisites” for a nuclear energy programme that it needs to “survive and prosper”, a Middle East nuclear conference* was told today.
The chairman of the Yemeni National Atomic Energy Commission Mustafa Bahran said among the pre-requisites being prepared by the government is the regulatory infrastructure.
Mr Bahran, a former science and technology adviser to the country’s president, said: “Yemen has little fossil fuels and oil is dwindling. We have no rivers, solar energy cannot answer our strategic needs for now and although wind power is possible, it is too expensive for us to develop.”
But Mr Bahran stressed that to avoid proliferation concerns Yemen had no interest in developing the nuclear fuel cycle.
He said challenges facing the country before launching a nuclear programme would be finding the capital expenditure and working with neighbouring countries on the development of an appropriate regional grid.
But he added: “Nuclear is not an option for us – it is a necessity to survive and prosper.”
* The Middle East Nuclear Energy Summit 2010 conference opened today in Jordan and brings together countries in the region that are considering or working towards nuclear power programmes (www.nuclearenergyme.com).
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
More Countries Asking IAEA’s Help To Start Nuclear Programmes (World Nuclear Review No. 46, 28 November 2008)
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