Amec has been awarded a strategic framework contract by Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) to provide services for UAE’s nuclear new-build programme. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Under the contract, Amec will provide consultancy support for four proposed APR1400 nuclear reactors at Barakah. Its role will range from provision of strategic planning services right through to specific niche nuclear engineering skills.

"This is a hugely important contract for Amec, and is a major step on our nuclear ambitions in the region," said Clive White, president of Amec’s Clean Energy Europe business.

The Barakah nuclear power plant is being built by a Korean KEPCO-led consortium under a turnkey contract awarded in late 2009. All four units at the site, which is located some 250 km from Abu Dhabi and about 75 km from the UAE’s border with Saudi Arabia, are expected to be in operation by 2020.

ENEC says that Barakah 1&2 are ‘more than 45%’ complete and the units remain on track for commercial operations in 2017 and 2018, subject to regulatory approval. Meanwhile, ENEC has been granted approval for additional civil works relating to Barakah Units 3&4, which are expected to begin operations in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Earlier this week, ENEC also announced that it had celebrated the graduation of its first group of Local Operators, which will provide monitoring and operation of plant equipment, reporting back to the reactor operators and senior reactor operators in the plant’s main control room. Ten students completed the 15-month training programme, which was developed in conjunction with prime contractor Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and took place at education and training facilities in the UAE and Korea.


Photo: First concrete for Barakah unit 1 in July 2010