“South Korea: The Winner of the Nuclear Project Deal”

After a fierce competition with consortiums of U.S., Japan, Russia, and France, South Korea’s consortium won “a contract worth some $20bn (£12.5bn) to build four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates” (BBC) This project has a significant value not only because it is known to be the biggest deal in the energy sector this year but also because South Korea’s consortium will be able to export its nuclear plant for the first time in history. Of all other reasons, stability was said to be the major reason that the South Korean-led consortium was chosen among its competitors. France’s consortium was originally expected to win the contract due to its ample experience in building nuclear plants and its good political relationship with UAE, but the consortium of South Korea surprisingly turned out to be the winner. It is expected that “the nuclear reactors be in operation by 2020, by which time demand for electricity in the UAE is expected to have more than doubled” (BBC). This project is also likely to increase employment rates in South Korea for the next 10 years, so it will bring significant benefits to both South Korea and UAE.

-Submitted by S. Cho (CAS’12)