Jordan and South Korea have signed a $70 million loan agreement to finance the kingdom’s first nuclear research reactor.
The state-run Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute and Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. are expected to start building a 5-megawatt reactor Nov. 1 at the Jordan University for Science and Technology near the northern city of Irbid.
A planning ministry statement said Monday the reactor will be fully commissioned within five years and a nuclear power plant will be built by 2017.
Resource-barren Jordan is developing a peaceful nuclear program with U.S. support. But the U.S. has expressed reservations over Jordan’s desire to enrich its large reserves of uranium.
Jordan says alternative energy sources are needed to generate electricity and desalinate water.
Bloomberg