CAIRO - Over a period of 30 years Egypt has been planning to construct its first nuclear power plant, while the United Arab Emirates already received their ticket to the club of NPPC (nuclear power-producing countries) in 2009. Paradoxically, the UAE is an oil-rich state and a leading OPEC member. The UAE's oil reserves, according to its government, are about 98 billion barrels (15.6 10^9 m3), almost as big as Kuwait's claimed reserves. Egypt's bid to produce nuclear power has been crippled for three decades by many outrageous events: indecisiveness, bureaucracy, a lack of money and lukewarm enthusiasm on the part of the former regime. Last month, Bedouins occupied a site in el-Dabaa, Mersa Matruh, which is being prepared for the construction of two nuclear plants. Claiming that they were the legitimate owners of the site, the alleged Bedouin trespassers demolished labs and administrative offices and expelled physicists and researchers from the area. The damage caused to the site is estimated at LE1 billion. As more people and more projects have gained access to expensively produced-and hugely subsidised-electricity, the demand for power has more than doubled. On the other hand, the UAE has beaten the odds. Aware that the world's oil reserves will be completely depleted in the not too distant future if current consumption is considered, and realising that the world's nations are increasingly interested in nuclear energy, this leading OPEC member awarded the Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) with a $20 billion project to construct four nuclear power plants in 2009. The UAE opted for South Korea's Generation III APR1400 to serve as the basis for its budding nuclear energy programme, the first of its kind in the Arab Gulf. When completed in 2013 and 2014, Shin Kori Units 3 & 4 will be the reference for the reactors under construction in the UAE. The completion of the Shin Ulchin 1 & 2 reactors, authorised by the government in April 2009, is expected in 2016. The APR1400, which is currently marketed for export by KEPCO, has been improved significantly in terms of safety, output, performance, operation and economics. The construction period is shorter, while the life span is longer, increased from 20 to 60 years compared to the earlier model. Surprisingly, like the UAE, South Korea has overtaken Egypt in the past six decades by making a name for itself, internationally and regionally, thanks to its strong presence in the semi-conductor, home appliance, automobile and mobile technology sectors. Korean brands have become household names around the world and their products rival or in many cases outperform those of their older competitors. South Korea and Egypt rose almost simultaneously from the ashes of tragic wars and foreign occupation. Unlike Egypt, South Korea, categorised some 60 years ago as one of the world's poorest nations, has evolved from being the 15th largest economy in nominal GDP terms to the world's largest exporter and 10th largest importer in 2010. Further, Egypt obtained its membership in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1958 – a year after South Korea. However, domestic power plant operation goes back to 1978 when Korea's first plant, Kori 1, came online. Egyptian scientists could be tempted to bite their fingers with regret if they knew that Korea had now 21 nuclear power plants with an overall output of 18,719 MW, accounting for nearly 23.9 per cent of energy capacity and 31 per cent of total consumption. This number is expected to increase to 60 per cent by 2035, thanks to additional nuclear reactors currently under construction and 10 more in the pipeline. Confident about its safety standards, South Korea's drive to become a nuclear powerhouse was neither halted nor even slowed following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986, after which all new nuclear power projects in Europe and the US came to a halt. In Korea, however, by 2005 a total of 20 nuclear power plants had gone online and the nation had no intention of stopping there. By 2009, the capacity of the Korean reactors stood at 91 per cent, the highest in the world, and they have maintained this level until today. At the time, the global average was a mere 76 per cent. The capability of the Korean nuclear power machine was also evident in the fact that the average annual capability loss was 0.6 per cent from 2007 to 2009. At the end of 2009, the global average was 5.4 per cent, according to IAEA. South Korea's push to develop nuclear power to provide a significant amount of energy was motivated by a strong desire to become independent of imported energy, while considering energy that was safe secure.
