Nawah Energy Company (Nawah), the subsidiary created by joint venture partners Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) to operate and maintain the Barakah NPP in the UAE, signed a Maintenance and Engineering Services Agreement (MESA) with Framatome during the 3rd annual eFusion event, which seeks to bring together Emirati and French companies as part of the UAE’s nuclear industry supply chain.
Framatome will provide maintenance and engineering services and will also provide training, technical and operational support, and fuel services for the four APR1400 units of the Barakah NPP.
Nawah CEO Ali Al Hammadi commented: “We are committed to working with experienced international partners to operate and maintain the Barakah plant to the highest international safety and quality standards. France has one of the most established nuclear energy sectors globally, with more than 60 years of experience. The MESA agreement with Framatome signals the important role French companies play in supporting the operations and maintenance of the Barakah Plant, and providing their expertise to our Emirati-led teams at Barakah.”
The agreement is part of the strategy to ensure the development of a sustainable UAE supply chain. Nawah seeks to partner with the best Emirati and international companies to ensure safe and efficient operation of the Barakah plant.
“Framatome is proud to be part of the impressive Emirati Civil Nuclear Programme journey”, said Bernard Fontana, Framatome CEO. “Our teams are committed to be the most reliable partner to the UAE and to provide Nawah and ENEC with innovative services and efficient technologies relying on more than 60 years of experience in the nuclear industry. We are engaged to support the safe, reliable and low-carbon operations of the Barakah nuclear fleet over its complete lifetime.”
Nawah said Framatome is a major supplier of engineering and maintenance services and will support the Barakah Plant as further milestones are achieved. Framatome will assist in bringing the remaining units on line, and support them throughout commercial operations.
Construction of the $20 billion Barakah NPP began in 2011 after South Korea won a tender for the project in 2009.Barakah 1 started commercial operations in April 2021 and preparations continue towards start-up of unit 2, which completed fuel load in March 2021. Unit 3 is now 94% complete, unit 4 is 87% complete and the NPP overall is more than 95% complete.