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Saudi Arabia receives nuclear bids

27 February 2023

Saudi Arabia has received bids for the deal to build the kingdom’s first nuclear power plant, the Finance Ministry has stated in its 2023 annual budget statement.

The statement’s key projects achievements in the fiscal year 2022 indicated: “The completion of several major works for the project to build the first nuclear power plant in the kingdom, and the receipt of bids to build the first nuclear power plant in the kingdom on 31st December 2022.”

It is the first time an official statement on the project's status has been issued. 

Before this, MEED understood bids were forthcoming in 2022, with several sources indicating bid clarifications appearing to be under way in January.

According to industry sources, the most likely bidders for the main contract are China National Nuclear Corporation, Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) and Russia’s Rosatom. Neither the client, King Abdullah City for Atomic & Renewable Energy (KA-Care), nor the apparent bidders have confirmed this.

Work on advisory contracts for Saudi Arabia’s planned multibillion-dollar nuclear power projects is progressing, as MEED reported in November.

KA-Care awarded three separate contracts for the project's legal, technical and financial advisory works earlier last year.

It awarded a team led by UK-headquartered EY the financial advisory contract in May 2022. Legal and technical consultancy contracts for the project were awarded earlier. 

In March 2022, it was reported that Saudi Arabia had established a holding company to develop nuclear power projects in the country.

Saudi ambassador to Austria and permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan, was cited as saying that the holding company would develop nuclear power plants to produce electricity, desalinate seawater and for thermal energy applications. 

He said the kingdom is working on a framework programme for nuclear energy during 2022-27, which includes “capacity building and collaboration with international institutes for research and development”.

This followed Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman al-Saud's announcement in January 2022 that Saudi Arabia has uranium resources that it wants to exploit transparently through partnerships.

Top nuclear projects to watch this year

2.8GW project

The kingdom’s first planned nuclear power plant is expected to be procured using a traditional design and build model. 

In September 2016, MEED reported that Saudi Arabia was carrying out technical and economic feasibility studies for the first reactors and was also looking at possible locations for the kingdom’s first nuclear project, a 2.8GW facility.

MEED reported the following year that KA-Care had received requests for information from the US firm Westinghouse, France’s EDF and Russia’s Rosatom.

It is understood South Korea’s Kepco and a Chinese nuclear power company have also responded to the request for qualifications for the main contract. 

French connection

Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia and France discussed and signed a preliminary agreement to cooperate on nuclear, clean hydrogen, renewable energy and electricity interconnection projects.

In December 2021, MEED reported that local contracting company Nesma & Partnerships had signed a memorandum of understanding with France’s Bouygues Travaux Publics to jointly execute civil works for a potential nuclear power plant project in Saudi Arabia.

Three-pronged strategy

Riyadh plans to develop nuclear power through a three-pronged strategy.

The majority of the nuclear power capacity will be developed through conventional, large-scale nuclear facilities, such as the one that major consultants are studying.

The kingdom also plans to develop atomic energy through a series of smaller, system-integrated modular advanced reactor technology (Smart) nuclear power plants in partnership with South Korea.

The third pillar of Saudi Arabia’s nuclear energy programme will involve mining uranium resources to fuel the plants, as highlighted earlier this year by the energy minister.

Developing the kingdom’s mining sector is a key goal of Saudi Vision 2030, launched in April 2016.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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