The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) is planning to complete the debt financing for the UAE’s nuclear power project by October, according to sources close to the deal.

Discussions with several banks and export credit agencies have been under way since late last year and understood to be in advanced stages. The bank and ECA funding is expected to be about $10bn, or around a third of the total project cost.

Although October is understood to be the target date, several sources close to the project say that financing of the project has been progressing much slower than anticipated.

The financing is being arranged by Credit Suisse and the UK’s HSBC, who are advising Enec, and the UK’s Standard Chartered, which is advising the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) consortium, the developer of the nuclear project. The first part of the nuclear project is expected to be operational by 2017.

Enec did not respond to requests to comment.