UAE nuclear energy plant seen ready in 2015: IAEA
"The UAE government told us that the plant would be ready and generating power by 2015," Ali Boussaha, a director at the IAEA, told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai.
"I think this is optimistic because it generally takes 10-15 years to get people trained and infrastructure in place."
The Gulf Arab state was on a fast-track plan to develop nuclear power and was taking technical advice from the IAEA, Boussaha said.
Latest industry estimates pegged the earliest date to set up such a plant in the UAE at 2017.
US President Barack Obama approved on Wednesday a nuclear energy deal with the UAE worth potentially billions of dollars to U.S. energy companies.
The administration of former President George W. Bush signed the pact with the wealthy Gulf state just days before leaving office in January.
The UAE, the world's third-largest oil exporter, is planning to build a number of nuclear reactors to meet an expected need for an extra 40,000 megawatts of electricity by 2017.
US nuclear reactor builders, GE and Westinghouse Electric Co, a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp stand to get a big share of the expected $40 billion market if Congress approves the deal.
France's Total Suez and state nuclear reactor maker Areva said last year they planned to develop two third-generation nuclear reactors in the UAE.
The UAE has said it plans to establish a $100 million agency to look into developing nuclear energy to satisfy rapidly rising electricity demand as its economy grows.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a loose gathering of Arab states including the UAE, said in 2006 it was studying developing a joint nuclear energy programme.
The UAE has said it would draw up a set of laws to govern the sector and establish a nuclear regulatory authority and an international advisory board of nuclear experts as well as seek help from other governments.