On Sunday, 9 April, H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the Members of the UAE Cabinet held an exceptional meeting at Barakah, the world’s largest nuclear construction site.
The UAE Cabinet also toured the site and received a full project update from H.E. Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of ENEC, together with senior officials from ENEC, Nawah Energy Company and Barakah One Company, the entities leading the quality and safety-driven delivery of the Barakah project, located in the Al Dhafrah Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate.
The update focused on the latest developments of the Barakah project, the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program and their strategic importance to the continued growth of the Nation.
The UAE Cabinet received a presentation on the uniqueness of nuclear safety standards which govern every aspect of the development of the Barakah project, from construction to nuclear operations. The presenters included Maryam Qasem, the Head of Nuclear Fuel Fabrication Procurement, Ali Al Nuaimi, a Senior Reactor Operator, and Amani Al Hosani, the first female Emirati nuclear engineer. All three are Emirati Energy Pioneers that have leadership positions for the project, highlighting the importance of the Barakah project as an engine of growth for a knowledge-based economy . Since its inception, the Energy Pioneers program has seen 226 Emirati nuclear experts graduate and the Emiratization rate within ENEC and Nawah is 60%.
The Members of the UAE Cabinet visited the Simulator Training Center, which is used to provide the extensive training required to become a licensed Reactor Operator. Following this, ENEC senior management updated the Cabinet on plans for operational readiness.
During its meeting, the Cabinet discussed the strategic nature of the Barakah project in the context of the UAE’s growing demand for energy and the nation’s ongoing economic transformation into a diversified, knowledge-based economy. This was shown in the Ministry of Energy’s recent announcement of its updated energy strategy; the UAE Energy Plan 2050, in which nuclear will form an integral part of the Government’s plan to cut the carbon footprint of electricity generation by 70 percent over the next 30 years.