Ex-Im Approves $2 Billion in Financing for Nuclear Power Plant in UAE
September 7, 2012
(Ex-Im Bank)
Project will Support 5,000 U.S. Jobs in 17 States
Washington, D.C. – In a decision that will support thousands of American jobs,
the board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has
authorized a $2 billion direct loan to the Barakah One Company of the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) to underwrite the export of American equipment and
service-expertise for the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Emirate
of Abu Dhabi, UAE.
According to estimates derived from U.S. Census Bureau statistics, the line of
credit will support approximately 5,000 American jobs across 17 states.
The transaction will finance the construction of the first nuclear power plant
on the Arabian Peninsula, which upon completion will number among the the
largest nuclear-generating facilities in the world. Additionally, the loan ranks
as Ex-Im Bank's largest transaction in the UAE to date and counts as Ex-Im
Bank's first greenfield nuclear-plant financing since the late 1990s.
"The 5,000 American jobs figure speaks volumes about the importance of the
transaction to the U.S. economy," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P.
Hochberg. "But in addition to bolstering American jobs, Ex-Im Bank will make
history by backing the construction of the first nuclear power plant on the
Arabian Peninsula."
The National Security Council and the Departments of State and Energy all
support the transaction. Moreover, the U.S. and UAE co-signed "U.S. – UAE 123
Agreement for Peaceful Civilian Nuclear Energy Cooperation" in 2009 and the
"Arrangement Between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the U.S. and the
Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation of the United Arab Emirates For the
Exchange of Technical Information and Cooperation in Nuclear Safety and Security
Matters" in 2010.
Barakah One Company plans to erect four nuclear reactor power-generating units
on a coastal strip along the Arabian Gulf approximately 220 kilometers from the
city of Abu Dhabi, a site chosen in light of seismic, socio-economic, and
environmental factors. The reactors, supplied by the Korea Electric Power
Corporation (KEPCO) and based on the state-of-the-art APR 1400 design, will come
online at one-year intervals effective 2017 and yield an aggregate capacity of
5,600 megawatts gross electricity.
Westinghouse Electric Company LLC, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based group company of
Toshiba Corporation, is the largest exporter involved in the transaction and
will provide the reactor coolant pumps, reactor components, controls,
engineering services, and training. Employing approximately 9,000 people in the
United States, the company retails fuel, technology, plant design, and equipment
to customers in the nuclear power industry. Westinghouse nuclear power plants
are currently under construction in China and the United States, among others.
"Westinghouse is delighted that the financing for Emirates Nuclear Energy
Corporation four-unit Barakah project has been approved by the Bank's Board of
Directors, and we remain dedicated to ensuring an effective implementation of
the project and related loan," said Ric Perez, the president and chief operating
officer of Westinghouse Electric Company. "This work will create and sustain
U.S. jobs in California, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, Texas and other states home to Westinghouse sub-suppliers. Within
Westinghouse alone, the Barakah project will allow us to maintain about 600 U.S.
jobs. In addition, the Bank's support will sustain hundreds of well-paying jobs
at Westinghouse's U.S. sub-suppliers and indirect jobs in the service
industry."
Ex-Im Bank, in conjunction with various U.S. and UAE governmental agencies, has
conducted a detailed and extensive risk assessment of the project. The UAE
invited the Integrated Regulatory Review Service of the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) to examine the nation's nuclear regulatory framework.
Likewise, the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation of the UAE established an
internal task force to address the safety implications and lessons-learned of
the Fukushima accident and to establish a process of outreach to the IAEA and
other nuclear regulatory bodies throughout the world.
Along the same lines, the UAE has entered into a number of important treaties
and conventions pertaining to the nuclear sector and has signed bilateral
agreements on the same subject with the U.S., Korea, France, and Japan, among
others.
As of the end of FY 2011, the UAE accounted for approximately $3.7 billion of
the Bank's worldwide credit exposure, and in the same year the Bank approved a
total of $415 million in authorizations to support American exports bound for
the country.
Welcome to the Exporting Source
Your one-stop resource for finding help to export to new customers, to learn about government export programs, to join export-promoting trade missions, to sign up for trade conferences and training, and to link to other exporting services. Whether you're an old hand at exporting or just getting started, the Exporting Source provides a place to locate foreign customers, export financing and foreign investment assistance.