Jordan closes in on reactor vendor

By Taylor Luck

AMMAN - Jordan is slated to select the technology provider for its first reactor by the end of the month, as energy officials stressed Amman’s commitment to nuclear power as the solution to the country’s energy woes.

According to Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Khaled Toukan, the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) is in the final stages of reviewing bids from three shortlisted nuclear vendors – French-Japanese, Russian and Canadian firms – to construct the Kingdom’s first reactor by 2019.

The vendors are AREVA-Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Atomstroyexport and AECL.

They have been requested to factor March’s Fukushimo incident in their bid documents and detail how their reactors would withstand similar conditions, namely an 8.9 magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale.

The technology selection process comes amidst an environmentalist movement calling for a suspension of Jordan’s nuclear programme, which has been prioritised by energy officials as key to weaning the Kingdom off energy imports.

The Kingdom’s first reactor, slated to be built near Balaama, some 40 kilometres northeast of Amman, has the potential to create 5,000 direct jobs, according to Toukan.

Jordanian officials highlight stable electricity prices and zero-carbon emissions as among nuclear power’s advantages.

In addition to environmental concerns, activists point to a lack of water – the Kingdom’s first nuclear reactor is to be cooled by the Khirbet Al Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant – and established track record in the industry as grounds to freeze the programme.

Jordan currently imports 97 per cent of its energy needs at a cost of 20 per cent of the gross domestic product.

jordantimes