Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan supervises the excellent development of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Armed Forces, visited the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant to witness the significant security advances being made at the first peaceful nuclear power plant in the Arab world, a key part of the UAE's transition to a new era of clean energy and to diversification away from dependence on oil as the sole source of energy. 

Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan was accompanied during the visit by Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Chairman of the Committee of Trustees of the Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan Charity and Humanity Foundation, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, representative of the Governor of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh and businessman Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Sultan bin Ahmad Sultan al-Jaber, Minister of State, and Mohammed Mubarak al-Mazrouei, Under-Secretary of the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

The entourage was received by Khaldoon al-Mubarak, chairman of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), Mohammed al-Hammadi, executive director of ENEC, Ali al-Hammadi, executive director of Nawah Energy Company, and Nasser al-Nasseri, executive director of Barakah One Company, for a tour of the plant, which will soon begin generating clean electricity 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the UAE.

The infrastructure is a major contribution to the clean energy sector in the Gulf country and also a growth engine for the nation, through the creation of highly skilled careers and a new industrial sector to support the plant's operation over the next six decades of its life. 

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the delegation accompanying him received a briefing on the historic milestones achieved over the past eleven years by ENEC and its subsidiaries Nawah and Barakah One Company, together with their key partners, South Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), ENEC's partner in the joint venture associated with the project, and the South Korean Hydroelectric Power Company (KHNP); and witnessed the process of completing the construction of Unit 1.

After the briefing, the delegation visited the Main Control Room of Unit 1, which is in the advanced stages of testing in preparation for commissioning. 

Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan met with the task force, which is composed of national and international experts from the UAE, who are certified and authorized to operate and control the reactor safely. The plant personnel presented their operations process and expressed their commitment to deliver and operate the Barakah plant according to the highest quality and safety standards.

As part of the visit, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi also toured the plant's Units 2-4 where ENEC's CEO announced another key milestone as the completion of the construction of Unit 2, which has been completed according to the highest world standards of quality and safety. The plant will be handed over to Nawah Energy Company to complete all operational readiness preparations as part of the process to receive the License to Operate from the Federal Nuclear Regulatory Authority (FANR).

Thanks to this project, the UAE became the first nuclear operating nation in the Arab world and the 33rd worldwide, with the aim of achieving the advanced technical expertise required to use this highly specialized and powerful form of peaceful clean energy. In addition, this will be a major step forward for the Emirates as it will produce clean electricity from nuclear power for the first time in the nation's history.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan stressed that the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant is a historically significant project for the UAE, which will consolidate its leadership position and role in the growing clean energy sector. The Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces reiterated support for the UAE's Peaceful Nuclear Energy Programme and the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, which is the cornerstone of the programme. He also recognized the economic and social importance of the programme to the UAE, in addition to the project's contribution to addressing the challenges of climate change at the regional and global levels. In this regard, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan highlighted the work done, even in spite of the current health crisis with the coronavirus pandemic, to which the Emirates is responding exceptionally well both within and outside its borders: "I am proud of the remarkable achievements that the dedicated teams at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant are delivering. The experience, dedication and commitment of our talented UAE citizens, working side by side with international experts, provides a shining example of the resilience and ability of the UAE to safely deliver world-class national infrastructure projects, despite the current challenges we and the global community face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic".

Regarding South Korea's role, Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan praised the strategic partnership between the UAE and South Korea and its important contribution to the respective economies of each nation, particularly in the peaceful nuclear energy sector. 

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi affirmed his continued support for the UAE's Peaceful Nuclear Energy Programme, which will help promote sustainable development and economic diversification, as well as mitigate climate change through the production of safe, reliable and clean electricity.

For his part, Mohammed al-Hammadi, executive director of ENEC, showed, in words collected by the WAM news agency, his pride in the energy initiative erected in the Arab country: "We are delivering a peaceful nuclear energy programme for the United Arab Emirates of which we are truly proud, achieving the highest international standards of safety, quality, transparency and non-proliferation. Our work continues under the supervision of the UAE's independent national regulator FANR to ensure safe construction and operations. We have delivered one of the largest and most complex construction projects in our nation's ambitious history, achieving many milestones over the past decade as we work to complete the development of one of the largest newly constructed nuclear power programs in the world today". 

In view of the current scourge of COVID-19 disease, ENEC and its subsidiaries have taken comprehensive measures to ensure the health and safety of their employees and the plant. The workforce in Barakah has been simplified to allow a significant proportion to support functional development remotely, and comprehensive coronavirus detection processes have been implemented for everyone on site, with access control processes in place to enter and exit to minimize the risk of an outbreak, and quarantine locations available in the event that someone needs the assistance of the medical team based at the plant.

ENEC is currently in the final stages of construction of Units 3 and 4 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, located in the Al-Dhafra region of the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The general construction of the four units is more than 94% complete. The four units at Barakah will generate up to 25 per cent of UAE's electricity demand by producing 5,600 MW of clean base-load electricity, avoiding the emission of 21 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year, the equivalent of removing 3.2 million cars from the roads annually. The project has been an engineering feat, with up to 18,000 people working on the project at the height of construction.