The UAE's Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has invited bids by September 7 from pre-qualified firms for the contract to manage the country's nuclear power programme, the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) said in a report yesterday, without citing any sources. ( GN )
The contract is expected to be awarded by the end of 2008, MEED said. Top government officials who were contacted by Gulf News, however, declined to comment on the report.
Prospective bidders for the contract are US-based companies Bechtel, CH2M Hill, Fluor with Sargent & Lundy, and PB Power, as well as Australia's WorleyParsons.
The UAE is poised to join the ranks of nations generating nuclear power for peaceful purposes by the end of the next decade. Hamad Al Ka'abi was appointed the UAE's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency this year as part of the country's intention to launch a nuclear programme for power generation.
Enec was created to oversee the development of the UAE's nuclear power plants.