The UAE’s Federal Nuclear Regulatory Authority, has announced that the company that will run the country’s first nuclear reactor, which is due to start operating this year (2018), is not yet ready to obtain the operating license.
UAE is building four nuclear reactors in one of the world’s largest new nuclear projects, Barakah, making it the first Gulf state to operate nuclear reactors.
Last year, it was decided to postpone the operation of the first reactor for a year because the operator was not yet ready.
“Nawaat Energy”, a joint venture between the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and (Kepco), the South Korean power company that builds the four APR-1400 reactors.
“The reactor is technically ready, but the authority has not yet issued the operating license to Nawaat,” said the director-general of the UAE’s Federal Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Christer Victorsen, in an interview with the press.
Victorsen commented on whether the station will be operated this year saying that: “It cannot be specified when the company will receive the license.”
“It is difficult to say when they will be ready,” he said referring to “Nawaat”.
It should be noted that the issuance of the operating license requires not only to meet the requirements of safety and technical standards, but also the readiness of the staff in terms of being well trained on the management of the reactor under all conditions and full readiness to deal with emergencies.
