Jordan signs $10 billion nuclear power deal with Russia

• 9 years ago (2015-03-26)
• Junior Isles

Europe 1061 Middle East 312 Nuclear 640

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Jordan has signed a $10 billion agreement with Jordan for the development of its first nuclear power plant. signed an agreement on Tuesday in Amman.

The contract between Rosatom, Russia's state-run nuclear energy company and the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission is for the development of a two-unit 2000 MW power plant in the north of the country by 2022. The new plant will help alleviate Jordan's struggle to meet its growing electricity demand.

Rosatom Chief, Sergey Kiriyenko said: "I would like to stress that Rosatom and the entire Russian nuclear sector take Jordan’s invitation to build its first nuclear plant as a big trust." He also noted that cooperation with Jordan would pave the way for future nuclear deals with other nations, because "the nuclear power plant is the embodiment of a strategic partnership”.

Jordan currently imports around 95 per cent of its energy needs, costing around 20 per cent of its GDP, and these needs are growing 7 per cent per year.

Khalid Toukan, head of the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission said: "We lost the oil from Iraq, natural gas from Egypt, and the country has been bleeding and losing on an average $3 billion every year," before adding that nuclear power is one of Jordan's options to negate this shortfall.

Toukan went on to say:"The Russian technology we chose in a very competitive process suits Jordan's needs in terms of power generation and the ability to produce electricity at very competitive prices."

The nuclear plant is expected to satisfy Jordan's entire electricity demand and possibly export electricity to Syria and Iraq. Its first unit is to be commissioned in 2024, and the second in 2026.

The $10 billion project will be the biggest Russian-Jordanian deal. Jordan will own a controlling stake by providing 50.1 percent of the funding with the rest of the money coming from Russia.