Jordan to start building nuclear power plant
Five-megawatt research reactor, to be constructed by South Korean company, to go online in 2016
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
Jordan is planning to construct its first nuclear power plant in what marks a step toward energy independence for a country that has no natural fuel resources. The Jordan Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved construction of the five-megawatt reactor on Tuesday, AFP reported.
“The reactor will help the commission build expertise and capabilities to prepare for constructing nuclear power plants in the future,” Jordan’s atomic agency chief, Majad Hawwari, said.
The Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute and Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. will construct the reactor at the Jordan University for Sciences and Technology, which is located near the northern city of Irbid.
According to the report, South Korea has loaned Jordan $70 million of the total $130 million cost of the project, which will be completed by 2016 if all goes according to schedule.
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Jordan currently imports 98 percent of its energy and is thus looking at ways to gain independence from external resources.
Friction with Israel over the project was already felt in September 2012 when King Abdullah II claimed that Israel was trying to pressure potential partners for the project to pull out.
An unnamed Israeli official told AFP at the time that, to the contrary, Israel has always been positive about the idea so long as it fell within the boundaries of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which aims to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.
The Times of Israel Community.