UAE’s nuclear reactor start-up delayed

E-Paper | July 07, 2026

DUBAI: The start-up of the Arab world’s first nuclear reactor — in the United Arab Emirates – has been delayed and should start operations between the end of 2019 and early 2020, the plant’s operator said on Saturday.

Nawah Energy Company, the operator of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in the Al-Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi, said it “has completed a comprehensive operational readiness review” for an updated start-up schedule for the reactor.

The $24.4 billion Barakah power plant is the world’s largest nuclear project under construction and will be the first in the Arab world.

“The results of Nawahs review forecast that the loading of nuclear fuel assemblies required to commence nuclear operations at Barakah Unit 1 will occur between the end of 2019 and early 2020,” it said in a statement.

Reuters reported in March that the start-up had been pushed back to 2019 due to training delays.

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2018

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Abdulla Hussain

May 27, 2018 06:30pm

The $24.4 billion Barakah power plant is the world’s largest nuclear project under construction and will be the first in the Arab world.. This is because they have more money and less knowledge. Size should not always not be a matter of pride.

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Kamil Sanaulla

May 27, 2018 10:52pm

I am surprised that one unit of the Nuclear Power plant being build by the South Koreans cost 24.4 billion dollars. It is the pressurized water Nuclear Power pant design developed by the US Combustion engineering/Westinghouse companies which cost around US $10 billion dollars to construct in the US. I don't know why the South Korean builders which learned the technique throw transfer of technology from the US companies are charging more than the double that US companies could have built a better plant than the So. Koreans.

Recommend 0

Omar

May 28, 2018 05:21am

Not much info regarding the plant specifics and more importantly the power generational capacity.

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SHAHID SATTAR

May 28, 2018 10:12am

@Kamil Sanaulla You forgot to consider the fifty percent kickbacks which will conveniently be transferred to somebody's personal accounts. Perhaps non-payments whereof is the reason for delays in the startup of the project.

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