Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) is prequalifying contractors for work on a AED1.5bn ($408m) staff village in the Braka area of Abu Dhabi’s Western Region close to where the UAE’s first nuclear power will be built.

The development will be divided into six districts and involves building accommodation and supporting infrastructure for 2,000 residents.

Once complete the units will be used by staff working on the UAE’s nuclear programme that involves building four reactors in Abu Dhabi. In 2009, a $20bn contract was awarded to a consortium, led by Seoul-based Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco), to build the power plants.

Since then, the project has mainly involved planning and design work, ahead of construction work starting in 2012. In October, Enec requested that the UAE Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) approve additional preparatory construction work at the proposed site for the UAE’s first nuclear power plants at Braka (MEED 18:10:11).

According to Enec’s schedule for the project, concrete for the first reactor will be installed in late 2012. Operating licences for units one and two will be submitted in early 2015. Unit one will begin commercial operations in 2017, which will be followed by unit two the following year. Unit three is to come online in 2019, while unit four will be ready by 2020.