Barakah One completes refinancing of Barakah plant

Image: ENEC

Barakah One Company (Barakah One) – the joint venture between the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and Korea Electric Power Corporation – has completed the refinancing of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant.

Barakah One has refinanced the full outstanding balance under the loan facilities extended by the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), the export credit agency of South Korea. These facilities were originally committed in 2016 in connection with the construction and development of the plant.

The KEXIM loan facilities have been refinanced through a competitive market process resulting in the selection of two leading Emirati banks, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB).

The Barakah plant generates clean electricity for the UAE

The Barakah Plant project has continued to progress through to full, four-unit commercial operations. There are three reactors currently generating abundant, clean electricity for the UAE, with the fourth unit recently starting its operational readiness phase.

Once commercially operational, Unit 4 will raise the plant’s total clean electricity generation capacity to 5.6GW, equivalent to 25 percent of the UAE’s electricity needs, delivering more than 40TWh of clean electricity per year.

Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, ENEC’s managing director and CEO, stated, “We are pleased that Barakah One Company has successfully completed the refinancing of the Barakah Plant, a flagship project for the UAE’s sustainable development. We have showcased a new model to the world for nuclear developments, demonstrating that new nuclear projects like Barakah are bankable, can be delivered in a timely manner, while continuing to meet the highest standards of safety and quality.”

Barakah One Company, ENEC’s commercial JV subsidiary, has completed the refinancing of the #BarakahPlant through UAE banking partners Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank & First Abu Dhabi Bank. The Barakah Plant has a significant, lasting impact on the UAE’s clean energy transition pic.twitter.com/VnaTJHjoqE

— Emirates Nuclear (@ENEC_UAE) July 4, 2023

Nasser Al Nasseri, CEO of Barakah One Company, said, “We appreciate the role K-EXIM has played during the development phase of the Barakah Plant, and as we now transition to full operations and move to the next phase, we are delighted by the confidence demonstrated from ADCB and FAB as we look ahead to the next 60 years of producing clean electricity for the UAE through the Barakah Plant.”

ENEC said it is now focused on developing new technologies including small modular reactors, clean molecules, synthetic fuels and clean hydrogen, to support the UAE’s continued clean energy transition.