SEOUL // South Korean firms will meet an ambitious timetable for building the UAE's first nuclear reactor, even if it leads to delays for their own nuclear power projects, officials say.
The reactor design planned for Abu Dhabi will be built by May 2017, four months faster than previous projects of the same type, through pre-manufacturing major components and devoting more manpower to the project, said Byun Jun-yeon, the executive vice president of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), the prime contractor on the project. "The UAE project is our top-of-top priority," he said. "We are going to mobilise all our best resources in terms of human resources, equipment and material into this project."
The awarding of the US$20 billion (Dh73.35bn) contract to South Korean firms last month to build the UAE's first reactors transformed KEPCO from a bit player in the global nuclear industry into a leading contender for other contracts around the world. But Mr Byun indicated yesterday that the company was now focused wholly on completing the Abu Dhabi project under the strict time and cost limits to prove the country's capabilities to the nuclear market.
The firm has eight reactors under construction in South Korea. The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) said it chose KEPCO's bid over rival bids from a French consortium and a US-Japanese alliance, in large part because it offered the lowest price and had a record of building its plants on schedule, and running them more efficiently than any other operator. The reactor in Abu Dhabi will be the fifth in an advanced series, called the APR-1400, which is not yet operating anywhere. Mr Byun said it would be built more quickly than a previous model that is operating at eight sites across his country and under construction at four more.
"The APR-1400 has much improved capacity and safety compared to the [older design], even though they have a four-month-shorter construction period," he said. The firm's ability to deliver the reactors quickly and cheaply is largely a result of its close partnership with subsidiaries and partners, with which it has been building plants for 20 years, Mr Byun said. KEPCO has historically led South Korea's nuclear programme, but depends on a number of partners to build infrastructure, supply key components and operate the plants.
After building so many projects with its associates, the company knew exactly how much to pay the subsidiaries and equipment suppliers to keep costs down, said Lim Hyun-seung, the general manager for KEPCO's overseas nuclear project team. The structure of the KEPCO bid, in which the company was fully responsible for the subcontractors and equipment suppliers, was a key reason it won the contract, said Padraic Riley, the director of communications at ENEC.
"KEPCO is in charge of this programme, and that will help to make things smoother, on budget and on time," he said. KEPCO's win has been recognised as a watershed moment for the firm's efforts to export its reactors, with a number of developing countries suggesting they might welcome a Korean bid to build their nuclear reactors. A nuclear adviser to the Korean government, Chung Kun-mo, told Bloomberg last week that Korean firms were exploring business opportunities in Turkey and Jordan as well as in China, India, Malaysia and Kenya.
Mr Byun would not comment on the recent reports, citing sensitive diplomatic relationships. Whang Joo-ho, a professor of nuclear engineering at Kyung Hee University who has advised his government, predicted that the relatively low price of the project would not yield large profits for KEPCO but would open up additional business opportunities at a time when growth in domestic electricity consumption was slowing.
"It is our first experience to export a nuclear plant," he said. "Our industry will keep growing up." @Email:cstanton@thenational.ae