Jordan, Russia sign agreement on nuclear plant construction

russia_giordaniaJordan and Russia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to cooperate on the development of nuclear energy in the kingdom, and build the Arab country’s first nuclear power plant.

On Tuesday, Chairman of Jordan Atomic Energy Commission Khaled Toukan and the head of Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, Sergei Kiriyenko, struck the MoU in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

“As you know, we lost the oil from Iraq, natural gas from Egypt, and the country has been bleeding and losing on an average $3 billion every year,” Toukan said.

“We aim to build a state-of-the art nuclear power plant that will be a showcase for the region and other newcomer countries,” he noted.

“Nuclear power is definitely one of the solutions to graduate from total dependency on oil and gas,” Toukan pointed out. “I am optimistic that the raw materials, the yellow cake, will come from Jordan.”

Kiriyenko, for his part, pledged to use Russia’s 70-year-old nuclear energy experience to construct the plant.

“The power plant is the embodiment of a real strategic partnership,” the Russian official said.

Under the $10-billion deal, Russia will build two nuclear power units in Jordan, with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts each. The first unit is to come on stream in 2024, while the second one will enter into service in 2026.

The nuclear plant will satisfy Jordan’s entire electricity demand, and give it a chance to export electricity to its neighbors, particularly Syria and Iraq.

Moreover, Jordan must purchase nuclear fuel from Rosatom for the reactors for a period of 10 years, after which it can seek supplies from other countries.

In November 2013, Rosatom overcame the Japanese-French consortium Mitsubishi Heavy Industries – Areva, and won the tender to construct the first nuclear plant in Jordan.

MP/MHB/AS

Fonte: “Press tv“, 25 mar. 2015

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