The United Arab Emirates has approved the operation permit of the Barakah nuclear power plant, which is being built by Korea Electric Power Corporation, reports said Monday. This is the first nuclear power plant exported by the Korean firm.

The license granted to the plant’s operator Nawah Energy Company will be for 60 years, Hamad al-Kaabi, deputy chairman of Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Nawah can now start preparing for commercial operations as trials will last for a few months, Kaabi was quoted as saying.

The power plant was originally due to open in 2017, but the operation has been delayed several times for safety reasons by the UAE government.

The Baraka nuclear power plant is a project to build four new ARP1400s, a next-generation nuclear power plant, in Baraka, approximately 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital. This is the only nuclear power plant in the UAE, and Kepco won the order in 2009.

When the plant enters commercial operations in the second half of this year, it is expected to produce 25 percent of the total power for the UAE. 

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)