South Korea has signed a $20 billion agreement with the United Arab Emirates on building four nuclear power plants in the oil-rich Middle East country, the news agency Yonhap reported on Sunday.
The agreement, which marks South Korea's first nuclear power plant export deal, is expected to generate contracts for South Korean companies worth an additional $20 billion, Yonhap reported.
The biggest energy deal contracted ever either by South Korea or the UAE was signed by a consortium led by South Korea's state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. and Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp., Yonhap said.
Under the deal, the South Korea-led consortium will build four 1,400 MW light water nuclear reactors by 2020 in Sila, some 330 (205 miles) west of the UAE capital, Yonhap reported.
The consortium won the UAE contract over the French nuclear group Areva SA and a consortium composed of the U.S. firm General Electric Co. and the Japanese firm Hitachi Ltd., Yonhap reported.
ABU-DHABI, December 27 (RIA Novosti)
