IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano visited the Barakah nuclear power plant construction site in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), last weekend, praising the nation’s recently launched nuclear program and the progress being made on the nation’s first nuclear plant.
The current construction schedule for the Barakah Unit 1 reactor calls for operations to begin in 2017, three additional reactors expected to be built and operational by 2020.
IAEA leaders have offered their support to the UAE to help ensure all regulations, guidelines and standards are met for international safety and for improving the nation’s national nuclear safety infrastructure.
To help the agency and country work together better, the UAE has held several IAEA peer-review missions, including an integrated regulatory review service mission that assessed the UAE’s nuclear regulatory system.
“As a newcomer to nuclear power, the UAE is setting a positive example in timely and comprehensive planning and implementation of their nuclear power programme, and with their strong emphasis on safety,” Amano said.
