UAE nuclear fuel plan in Q1 2012

United Arab Emirates nuclear power developer Enec expects to finalise fuel procurement plans and its financing strategy in the first quarter of 2012, a spokesman for the company said on Tuesday.

"Negotiations are going on and we are expecting to award the contract in the first quarter of 2012," said Fahad al Qahtani, director of external affairs at Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec).

Enec, which plans to build four nuclear reactors at a cost of around $20 billion, is in talks to buy fuel from a number of countries including Australia and Russia.

Project financing will also be finalised in the first quarter of 2012.

"We are exploring all options to finance the project, including bonds," he said.

Japan's Fukushima disaster has not derailed the nuclear power plans of the UAE but the country's Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) has asked Enec to submit a full technical report.

"We are confident of our safety standards and expect to complete our report by July 2012. That is when we get permission to build the nuclear reactors," he said.

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