Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) has announced that more than Dh9.15 billion ($2.4 billion) worth of contracts have been awarded to UAE companies for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant, a report said.

Over the past five years, Enec, in association with its prime contractor Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), has awarded contracts to more than 1,100 local companies to work on the Barakah nuclear plant project in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region, said a report in The National.

Enec is the organisation charged with implementing the UAE’s peaceful nuclear energy programme.

Mohamed Al Hammadi, chief executive of Enec, said that an important factor in the UAE’s decision to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy programme was the opportunity to develop a new industrial sector to support the nation’s economic growth and diversification strategy.