The United Arab Emirates’ state-run nuclear energy company says a South Korean consortium has won a contract to build the Arab country’s first nuclear power reactors.
The bid led by Korea Electric Power Corporation beat out proposals from a French team and one led by the U.S. and Japan.
Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation says the deal for four 1,400-megawatt reactors is worth about $20 billion.
The UAE is the world’s third-largest oil exporter but must import natural gas to run many of its existing power plants. It says its energy needs are expected to almost double by 2020.
Washington earlier this year signed an agreement with the UAE for the country to import, rather than produce, fuel for its nuclear reactors.
