Ex-Im Approves $2 Billion in Financing for Nuclear Power Plant in UAE
September 7, 2012
(Ex-Im Bank)
Project will Support 5,000 U.S. Jobs in 17
States
Washington, D.C. – In a decision that will
support thousands of American jobs, the board
of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
(Ex-Im Bank) has authorized a $2 billion direct
loan to the Barakah One Company of the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) to underwrite the export of
American equipment and service-expertise for
the construction of a nuclear power plant in
the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE.
According to estimates derived from U.S. Census
Bureau statistics, the line of credit will
support approximately 5,000 American jobs
across 17 states.
The transaction will finance the construction
of the first nuclear power plant on the Arabian
Peninsula, which upon completion will number
among the the largest nuclear-generating
facilities in the world. Additionally, the loan
ranks as Ex-Im Bank's largest transaction in
the UAE to date and counts as Ex-Im Bank's
first greenfield nuclear-plant financing since
the late 1990s.
"The 5,000 American jobs figure speaks volumes
about the importance of the transaction to the
U.S. economy," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and
President Fred P. Hochberg. "But in addition to
bolstering American jobs, Ex-Im Bank will make
history by backing the construction of the
first nuclear power plant on the Arabian
Peninsula."
The National Security Council and the
Departments of State and Energy all support the
transaction. Moreover, the U.S. and UAE
co-signed "U.S. – UAE 123 Agreement for
Peaceful Civilian Nuclear Energy Cooperation"
in 2009 and the "Arrangement Between the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the U.S. and
the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation of
the United Arab Emirates For the Exchange of
Technical Information and Cooperation in
Nuclear Safety and Security Matters" in 2010.
Barakah One Company plans to erect four nuclear
reactor power-generating units on a coastal
strip along the Arabian Gulf approximately 220
kilometers from the city of Abu Dhabi, a site
chosen in light of seismic, socio-economic, and
environmental factors. The reactors, supplied
by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)
and based on the state-of-the-art APR 1400
design, will come online at one-year intervals
effective 2017 and yield an aggregate capacity
of 5,600 megawatts gross electricity.
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, a
Pittsburgh, Pa.-based group company of Toshiba
Corporation, is the largest exporter involved
in the transaction and will provide the reactor
coolant pumps, reactor components, controls,
engineering services, and training. Employing
approximately 9,000 people in the United
States, the company retails fuel, technology,
plant design, and equipment to customers in the
nuclear power industry. Westinghouse nuclear
power plants are currently under construction
in China and the United States, among others.
"Westinghouse is delighted that the financing
for Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation
four-unit Barakah project has been approved by
the Bank's Board of Directors, and we remain
dedicated to ensuring an effective
implementation of the project and related
loan," said Ric Perez, the president and chief
operating officer of Westinghouse Electric
Company. "This work will create and sustain
U.S. jobs in California, Connecticut, New
Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,
Texas and other states home to Westinghouse
sub-suppliers. Within Westinghouse alone, the
Barakah project will allow us to maintain about
600 U.S. jobs. In addition, the Bank's support
will sustain hundreds of well-paying jobs at
Westinghouse's U.S. sub-suppliers and indirect
jobs in the service industry."
Ex-Im Bank, in conjunction with various U.S.
and UAE governmental agencies, has conducted a
detailed and extensive risk assessment of the
project. The UAE invited the Integrated
Regulatory Review Service of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to examine the
nation's nuclear regulatory framework.
Likewise, the Federal Authority for Nuclear
Regulation of the UAE established an internal
task force to address the safety implications
and lessons-learned of the Fukushima accident
and to establish a process of outreach to the
IAEA and other nuclear regulatory bodies
throughout the world.
Along the same lines, the UAE has entered into
a number of important treaties and conventions
pertaining to the nuclear sector and has signed
bilateral agreements on the same subject with
the U.S., Korea, France, and Japan, among
others.
As of the end of FY 2011, the UAE accounted for
approximately $3.7 billion of the Bank's
worldwide credit exposure, and in the same year
the Bank approved a total of $415 million in
authorizations to support American exports
bound for the country.
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