Saudi Arabia to Launch KRW12tn Nuclear Plant Project
The Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety and the Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission of Saudi Arabia have recently signed a US$2.32 million contract.
The purpose of the contract is to share the institute’s research reactor technology with the commission. In Saudi Arabia, a 30 KW research reactor designed by INVAP of Argentina has been under construction since November 2018. The institute will provide assistance regarding the reactor in terms of licensing guidelines and regulatory procedure development by trial run and operation stage.
The contract is expected to lead to more bilateral cooperation in the industry. Saudi Arabia is planning to launch a 12 trillion won nuclear power plant construction project and bid invitations were sent in May to South Korea, France, China and Russia.
The biggest potential obstacle to the additional cooperation is that Saudi Arabia is outside the IAEA Additional Protocol in order to hold Iran’s nuclear development in check. South Korea has refused to export nuclear power plants to countries outside the protocol, and this principle was reconfirmed at the KORUS summit in May.
Experts point out that the South Korean government needs to make use of its alliance with the United States in the nuclear power industry. This is because the key to the additional protocol issue is in the hands of the United States. South Korea’s APR-1400 reactor was developed based on U.S. source technologies, and its export is restricted under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.