An inter-governmental agreement has been signed between Jordan and Russia last week in Jordanian capital Amman. The agreement envisages Russian cooperation in construction and operation of a nuclear power plant having two VVER units, each of 1000Mw capacity in the territory of Jordan.
Sergey Kirienko, Director General of Rosatom State Corporation and Khaled Toukan, Chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission signed the agreement on behalf of the respective governments.Earlier in November 2013, Rosatom won a tender for the construction of a nuclear plant in Jordan, beating the Japan- France consortium- Areva.
In a recent interview to Al-Arabiya TV channel Khaled Toukan said, “Accepting Russia’s proposal was based on two advantages over competitors- reliability of nuclear reactors and efficiency of the project.
“Russian project requires 15% less investment and will generate 10% more electricity than the plants suggested by France and Japan,” he added.
The Agreement also has provisions for water cooling system, energy market analysis, site evaluation, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), supply of nuclear fuel for initial 10 years and return of nuclear waste of Russia.
The project cost will be around USD 10 billion. Both the sides are working on joint venture to implement this project. Jordan is supposed to hold a 51% stake, and Rosatom (or its subsidiary) 49% stake. Rosatom is following similar finance model in the Finnish project Hanhikivi-1 NPP, where it holds 34% of shares.
The proposed nuclear power plant will meet Jordan’s electricity demand and give a probable opportunity to export to other countries like Syria and Iraq. The first unit is expected to be commissioned in 2024, and the second on- in 2026. – Triune Group press release
