Yemen nuclear deal sparks security fears

Yemen's move to acquire nuclear technology has raised security concerns. (Getty Images)

Yemen has signed a deal with a US-based energy firm to build nuclear power plants over the next 10 years for electricity generation.

Under the agreement, Powered Corporation is set to build five nuclear reactors in the country that will generate 5,000 megawatts of energy, newswire AFP reported on Tuesday, quoting Yemen’s Energy and Electricity Minister Mustafa Bahran.

Its plans to build nuclear plants have raised serious security concerns for the whole region.

Greenpeace has called Yemen’s decision to pursue nuclear power as “extremely disappointing” and said it would increase instability in the Middle East.

The country is a known base of numerous terrorist organisations with links to Al-Qaeda and its nuclear ambitions raise questions over whether the government would be able to adequately secure the plant, in addition to whether it would be able to safely dispose of waste material from the plant.

Yemen is currently ranked the world’s 24th most vulnerable country to “violent internal conflict” and “societal deterioration” in the 2007 Failed States Index drawn up by US magazine Foreign Policy and US-based think tank Fund for Peace.

The overall costs for the project are expected to hit $15 billion, with construction of the first reactor expected to get under way in early 2009.

"Powered Corporation will oversee efforts to secure the financing of the project," Bahran told the newswire, adding that the first reactor should be ready to produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity by the end of 2012.

Bahran has said he discussed the country’s nuclear program with Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), during IAEA's general conference of member states last week in Vienna, state news agency Saba reported.

Yemen - which faces daily power shutdowns - wants to generate electricity and desalinate sea water to meet the needs of its urban population and boost the country's industrial development.

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