The $20bn debt financing for the nuclear power project being developed in Abu Dhabi has been delayed at the last minute after plans were being arranged to sign the deal on 20 November.

Sources close to the scheme say the hope is still to get the deal signed before the end of the year, but it is understood that a new date has yet been finalised.

The financing will be split between around $10bn from the Export Import Bank of Korea (Kexim), around $2bn from the Export Import Bank of the US (US Exim), $6bn in direct funding from the government of Abu Dhabi, and just over $2bn from commercial banks. The tenor of the debt will be 23 years.

It is still unclear what has caused the delay but it is thought to stem from the Abu Dhabi government portion not yet being ready to sign.

The commercial bank tranche of the financing is understood to be mainly funded by Abu Dhabi banks, with additional contributions from the UK’s HSBC, which is also advising the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) and Standard Chartered, which is advising Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) consortium who are building and operating the plant.

In total, the project is expected to cost about $30bn to develop and the first part of the Baraka nuclear power scheme is expected to be operational by 2017.