By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
South Korea struck a 150 billion won ($132.7 million) deal Tuesday to export a research-purpose nuclear reactor to Jordan.
The Jordan Research and Training Reactor (JSTR) contract will allow a consortium of the Korea Atomic Energy Institute and Daewoo Engineering and Construction to build a 5-megawatt reactor in Irbid, 70 kilometers north of Amman, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said.
The Korean consortium inked the deal with the Jordanian government at the office of Prime Minister Samir Rifai in Amman, with Korean Education Minister Ahn Byung-man and other related officials present.
Construction of the plant will begin in June at Jordan University of Science and Technology, and is expected to be completed around July 2014. Its operations will kick off in 2015.
The Korean consortium beat out three companies from Argentina, China and Russia to be the preferred bidder in December last year.
It took several more negotiations before the final agreement for the deal was reached.
With the JSTR contract, South Korea has become the third country to export a nuclear research plant following Argentina and Russia.
"From design to construction and operation, this project will be achieved 100 percent with our domestic technology. This means our nuclear technology has earned global recognition," Ahn said.
"The deal will also help lift Korea to be a leading provider of nuclear research reactors in the future."
Also in this project, the Middle East country will have nuclear technology transferred from South Korea, which will be used in building four commercial reactors within the next 30 years.
Now South Korea has a bigger chance to export commercial reactors in the wake of the contract, industry watchers say.
Jordan, which does not produce any crude oil, plans to raise its share of nuclear power to some 30 percent of its total power generation by 2040.
During the signing ceremony, a Jordanian official highly praised the development of Korean nuclear technology.
Khaled Toukan, chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, reportedly said that the Korean bidders won the highest rating in a close review of all aspects of the project.
"I think Korea has the world's best technology in nuclear research reactors," he said, adding the country is "highly likely to be in charge of construction of more than one reactor to be built in the future."
A commercial project is underway in Jordan for two reactors, aimed to be established around 2020. Bidders from about four countries are taking part in the bid, including Korea, and the preferred bidder will be selected early next year.
Spurred on by its recent success, South Korea is set to participate in overseas nuclear bids. Following a deal in December, the country's first in history, it plans to join another nuclear power plant project bid in the United Arab Emirates, and is also in preliminary talks with China and Turkey for cooperation.