Enec Announces ‘Formal Closing’ Of $24.4Bn Financial Package For Barakah

20 Oct (NucNet): Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) and Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) announced today the formal closing of the financing package for the four-unit Barakah nuclear station under construction in Abu Dhabi, meaning all financing is now secured. The financing will be managed by the recently created subsidiary, Barakah One PJSC, in which Kepco, the prime contractor for the Barakah project, owns an 18% stake. Enec said the total amount of financing is estimated at $24.4bn (€22bn), composed of direct loan agreements of about $19.6bn and $4.7bn in equity commitments. The equity commitments are provided by Enec and Kepco as part of a joint venture agreement also announced today. The direct loan agreements that Barakah One has entered into are a direct loan from the Export-Import Bank of Korea of $2.5bn; a total of $250m of loan agreements with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, First Gulf Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered; and a direct loan from Abu Dhabi’s department of finance of up to $16.2bn. Working capital so far has been coming from the Abu Dhabi government. The direct loan agreements include the overnight cost of the prime contract for the construction and commissioning of the Barakah nuclear station, interest during construction and the cost of initial nuclear fuel. They also include allowances for “potential inflationary increases in the price of commodities, such as construction materials, during the period of construction”, Enec said. Barakah is scheduled for completion in 2020, with construction having started in 2012. With four reactors online, the facility will deliver up to a quarter of the UAE’s electricity needs, Enec said.