Barakah Nuclear Power Plant: Who Owns It and How It Works

Last updated: October 21, 2026

The Barakah Nuclear Power Plant is the United Arab Emirates’ first nuclear power station and the first commercial nuclear plant in the Arab world. Owned by the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and operated by its joint venture with South Korea’s KEPCO, the four-unit, APR-1400 facility in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region reached full four-unit operation in September 2024 and now supplies roughly a quarter of the UAE’s electricity.

Project Snapshot

Ownership Structure

Barakah is owned by the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), a corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates and the entity responsible for delivering the country’s civil nuclear energy program. ENEC does not hold the plant directly; instead, its commercial and financial interests are held through Barakah One Company PJSC, a joint-venture entity ENEC created with South Korea’s Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) under an agreement signed October 20, 2016. ENEC holds 82% of Barakah One, with KEPCO holding the remaining 18% — the same 82/18 split ENEC and KEPCO applied to Nawah Energy Company, the separate joint-venture entity that operates the plant. Nawah was established in May 2016 and is tasked with the day-to-day operation and maintenance of Units 1 through 4. KEPCO’s minority stakes reflect its role as the reactor technology supplier and prime contractor rather than a financial investor seeking a majority position, while the ownership structure keeps majority control of the plant and its revenues inside the UAE government’s ENEC.

Leadership

ENEC has been led since 2008 by Managing Director and Group Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, who has overseen the Barakah program from its earliest planning stages through full four-unit operation. Al Hammadi has also held international nuclear-industry leadership roles, including serving as chairman of the World Nuclear Association (2024–2026) and as president of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) from 2022 to 2024. Nawah Energy’s commercial entity was initially led by Nasser Al Nasseri, a former ENEC chief financial officer named acting CEO of Barakah One Company when the ENEC-KEPCO joint venture was formed in 2016.

Technology & Scale

Barakah’s four units use the APR-1400 (Advanced Power Reactor 1400), a South Korean-designed evolutionary pressurized water reactor supplied by a KEPCO-led consortium, which won the roughly $20 billion construction contract from ENEC in December 2009 — the first non-Korean export order for the design. Each unit has a gross capacity of approximately 1,400 MW, giving the plant a combined nameplate capacity of around 5,600 MW once all four units are online, which ENEC and the UAE government describe as sufficient to meet up to 25% of the country’s electricity needs. Construction proceeded sequentially across the four units between 2012 and 2015, with each unit requiring roughly eight to nine years from first concrete to commercial operation. ENEC’s chief executive has said the site has room for three to four additional units depending on future reactor technology choices, but as of October 2026 no fifth or sixth unit has reached a public announcement, feasibility study milestone, or Final Investment Decision — any expansion beyond the current four units remains a stated long-term option rather than an active project.

Financing & Investment Cost

ENEC’s original December 2009 contract with the KEPCO-led consortium was valued at approximately $20 billion for the design and construction of all four reactors. Published estimates of the plant’s eventual all-in cost have varied significantly by source and by what is included in the scope — financial reporting around 2011 cited figures as high as $30 billion, a 2018 estimate to complete the program put the figure at about $24.4 billion, and later industry reporting referenced a cumulative cost near $32 billion. ENEC has not published a single reconciled total construction cost, so these figures should be treated as estimates from financial and industry press rather than an official final account. Financing for the program combined ENEC/UAE government equity, export-credit-agency debt (reflecting KEPCO’s home-country backing), and commercial and sovereign borrowing; separately, South Korea’s state-run entities have said they expect to earn further revenue from multi-decade operations, maintenance, and nuclear fuel supply contracts tied to the plant over its operating life.

Role in the UAE’s Energy Mix

Barakah is the centerpiece of the UAE’s push to diversify its power generation away from near-total reliance on natural gas. ENEC and Nawah say the plant, once fully operational, displaces more than 21 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually compared with conventional gas-fired generation — a figure ENEC’s leadership has equated to removing roughly 3.2 million cars from UAE roads each year. With all four units now in commercial service, Barakah is intended to supply up to a quarter of the UAE’s total electricity demand, materially reducing the volume of natural gas the country needs to burn domestically for power generation and, by extension, freeing up gas volumes that Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC and other UAE producers can direct to export markets or other uses. The plant’s output is also central to the UAE’s stated goal of cutting the carbon intensity of its power sector ahead of its 2050 net-zero target.

Security Incident — May 2026 Drone Strike

On May 17, 2026, the UAE’s air defenses intercepted two drones while a third struck an electrical generator located outside Barakah’s inner perimeter, starting a fire. The UAE’s nuclear regulator stated on the day of the incident that the fire did not affect plant safety and that all units continued operating normally, with no injuries and no release of radioactive material reported. On May 19, 2026, the UAE Ministry of Defense said technical tracking confirmed the three drones had been launched from Iraqi territory; no group claimed responsibility. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Gulf states publicly condemned the strike, which came amid a fragile ceasefire in the broader regional Iran conflict and was described by regional media as the first known attack to physically reach the Barakah site since the plant became operational.

Related Entities

• ADNOC — the UAE’s national oil and gas company; a separate state entity from ENEC/Nawah, but part of the same UAE energy system that Barakah’s nuclear output supplements by reducing domestic gas-fired power demand
• Ruwais LNG — ADNOC’s major LNG export project, illustrating how UAE gas volumes are being redirected toward exports as nuclear and renewables take a larger share of domestic power supply
• South Korea Pledges $120 Billion for Eight US Nuclear Reactors — KEPCO and Korea’s state nuclear industry, the same export ecosystem that built Barakah’s APR-1400 units, expanding into new markets
• Poland Delays First Nuclear Plant to 2036, Sets 2040 for Second — a contrasting case of a country still in the early stages of the nuclear buildout Barakah has already completed
• What Is OPEC? — background on the oil-exporter framework the UAE, as an OPEC+ member, operates within alongside its nuclear diversification program
• TDE Investments hub
• TDE Nuclear Energy News hub

Sources

• ENEC — ENEC and KEPCO Sign Joint Venture for UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program
• World Nuclear News — ENEC and KEPCO Create Commercial Subsidiary Barakah One
• Nawah Energy Company — About Nawah / Overview
• WAM (Emirates News Agency) — Saudi Arabia Strongly Condemns Drone Attack on UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Plant Site
• Gulf News — UAE Air Defences Intercept Drones Targeting Barakah Nuclear Plant
• Khaleej Times — Gulf Countries, Egypt Condemn Attack Near UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Plant
• S&P Global Commodity Insights — UAE’s ENEC May Develop More Nuclear Power Plants Locally, Internationally in Future
• UAE Government Portal — Nuclear Science and Technology

Frequently Asked Questions

Who owns the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant?

Barakah is owned by the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), a UAE government-owned entity, through its commercial subsidiary Barakah One Company PJSC, in which ENEC holds 82% and South Korea’s KEPCO holds the remaining 18%.

Who operates Barakah?

Nawah Energy Company, a separate ENEC-KEPCO joint venture (also 82% ENEC / 18% KEPCO) established in May 2016, operates and maintains all four units.

How much electricity does Barakah produce?

With all four APR-1400 units in commercial operation since September 2024, Barakah has a combined nameplate capacity of approximately 5,600 MW and is intended to supply up to 25% of the UAE’s electricity demand.

Is Barakah still under construction?

No. All four units reached commercial operation between 2021 and 2024, with Unit 4 — the final unit — entering commercial service on September 5, 2024.

Was Barakah attacked in 2026?

On May 17, 2026, a drone struck an electrical generator outside the plant’s inner perimeter and started a fire; the UAE’s nuclear regulator said plant safety was not affected and all units kept operating normally, with no injuries or radioactive release. The UAE later said the drones originated from Iraqi territory.

Illustrative image. Photo: Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — source