UAE issued a licence for a reactor at its Barakah nuclear power plant, the first in the Arab world, hailing it as a “historic moment” The UAE has a population of 10 million it has made huge investments in developing alternative power sources including solar.
The Barakah plant, located on the Gulf coast west of Abu Dhabi, had been due to come online since 2017 but faced a number of delays that officials attributed to safety and regulatory requirements. But has finally begun operating.
And the national nuclear regulator has now approved the operating licence for the first of four reactors at the plant, said Hamad Al Kaabi, the UAE representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“This is a historic moment for the UAE, making it the first Arab country in the region to operate a nuclear power plant,” Kaabi said in a press conference.
When fully operational, the four reactors have the capacity to generate 5,600 megawatts of electricity, around 25 per cent of the nation’s needs.
Why was the Barakah Project not safe earlier?
The Barakah plant is situated on the Emirates coast, separated from Iran by the troubled Gulf waters. It is just 50 kilometres from the border of Saudi Arabia, and is closer to the Qatari capital Doha than it is to Abu Dhabi. Certain nations were threatened of the UAE producing nuclear weapons by enabling these resources but the UAE has said it will not be developing an uranium enrichment programme or nuclear reprocessing technologies. Residents living within a 50 kilometre radius of the Barakah plant have been instructed on emergency procedures in case of an accident. To read more from ProperGaanda: Imran Khan promotes peace in Afghanistan