ABU DHABI, 25th November, 2020 (WAM) -- The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, ENEC, hosted a virtual Stakeholder Forum, bringing together stakeholders from a diverse range of UAE organizations to celebrate joint success of their ongoing collaboration, as well as providing the latest progress updates on the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant.

The event is an integral component of ENEC’s efforts to recognize the significant and diverse contributions of its stakeholders, ranging from key government entities and regulatory authorities to media organizations and academic institutions. Effective collaboration between ENEC and its stakeholders has proved invaluable in the delivery of key milestones throughout the year and continued progress across the plant, also in safely addressing the challenges brought on by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The virtual forum was opened by Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Chief Executive Officer of ENEC, and showcased ENEC’s 2020 achievements, with presentations by ENEC subject matter experts, and a live Q&A session.

Al Hammadi said: 'I would like to extend my appreciation to all of our stakeholders who have joined us today. The success of the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program would not have been possible without the support, dedication and expertise of everyone who has worked alongside us for more than a decade to deliver this monumental project that will benefit the UAE socially, economically and environmentally for decades to come.'

'By working closely and constructively with our numerous partners, we have not only ensured the highest international standards of safety, quality and security, but continued to progress the development of the Barakah Plant in the midst of the unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic.' added Al Hammadi.

Since ENEC’s establishment in 2009, the corporation has cooperated and partnered with numerous stakeholders and the success of its collaborative efforts has been frequently recognized at an international level. Most recently, ENEC and the Abu Dhabi Transmission and Despatch Company’s, TRANSCO, work to connect Unit 1 of the Barakah Plant to the UAE grid was recognized during the Asian Power Awards 2020, with the project winning a Gold Award under the Transmission & Distribution Project of the Year category.

The Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant is one of the largest nuclear energy new build projects in the world, containing four APR-1400 units. Construction of the plant began in 2012 and has progressed steadily ever since. Construction of Units 3 and 4 are 93 percent and 87 percent complete respectively, benefitting from the experience and lessons learned during the construction of Units 1 and 2, while the construction of the Barakah Plant as a whole is now more than 95 percent complete.

Once the four reactors are online, Barakah Plant will deliver clean, efficient and reliable electricity to the UAE grid for decades to come, providing around 25 percent of the country’s electricity and preventing the release of up to 21 million tons of carbon emissions.

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