UAE regulator in final leg of Barakah operating licence assessment

Monday, 28 October 2019

FANR's board of management met at the plant site to review progress of the regulator's operational activities and to discuss initiatives planned for this year. The meeting included updates on the application review as well as inspection activities to ensure implementation of FANR’s safety, security and safeguards requirements, the regulator said.

Four Korean-designed APR1400 reactors are being built at Barakah, near Ruwais in the Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi, by a consortium led by the Korean Electric Power Company. Construction of Barakah unit 1 began in July 2012 and was completed in March 2018. The unit has received an electricity generation licence from the UAE Department of Energy, and requires an operating licence from FANR before fuel loading and operation can begin. Plant owner Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation submitted the operating licence application for the first two Barakah units in 2015.

Reviewing the Barakah operating licence application to ensure that it meets all regulatory requirements is a "key priority" for FANR's board of management, the regulator said.

FANR's board has also approved the signature of agreements with the UAE's Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship and the Department of Economic Development of Abu Dhabi to support its licensing requirements. It has also approved the signature of an agreement with the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus on cooperation, training and provision of information in the field of nuclear and radiological emergencies and environmental protection. It also plans to sign an agreement with the Belgium's SCK-CEN nuclear research centre on education and competence building, research and development in nuclear technology and radiation protection.