South Korea's trade minister will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) later this week to check the process of the nuclear power plant construction project sponsored by the governments of Seoul and Abu Dhabi, the ministry said Tuesday.

    During his three-day trip from Tuesday, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyung-hwan will tour the construction site of the Barakah nuclear power plant, some 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap) reported.

    The project is to build four nuclear reactors, with a combined capacity of 5,600 megawatt, under the US$20 billion contract signed between the state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (ENEC) in 2009.

    The first facility is expected to be completed in 2017, with the second one to be constructed in the following year. The minister will also participate in a signing ceremony of a separate follow-up deal for the operation of the nuclear reactors by KEPCO for the next six decades. 

    The ministry said Joo will also have meetings with the UAE high-ranking officials including chairman of the UAE Executive Affairs Authority to discuss ways to bolster bilateral cooperation in energy sectors.

Source: QNA