emirates7 - Shamma bint Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, met today with Mohamed Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ENEC and senior management members of ENEC and its subsidiaries at the Youth Pavilion at EXPO 2020 Dubai. The minister was updated on ENEC’s commitment to providing talented UAE youth with the skills, expertise and experience necessary to become the future leaders of the nation’s growing nuclear energy sector. The Minister congratulated the new members of the Barakah Youth Council’s (BYC) third cycle and thanked the outgoing members for their successes, dedication and efforts.

She learned from representatives of the BYC about the progress at Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, located in the Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate, which has been commercially operating since April 2021, generating clean electricity every day. She was also updated on the progress being achieved at Unit 2 of the Plant, which was connected to the UAE grid in August 2021 and is now in the final stages of preparation for commercial operation.

The minister said: "The continued progress at the Barakah Plant is a remarkable testament to the UAE’s forward-thinking leadership in the transition to cleaner energy sources. I am thrilled to meet representatives of the Barakah Youth Council and to witness them actively working together to deliver critical national infrastructure projects, utilizing their knowledge and expertise to sustainably power the country and tackle climate change – two priority areas for youth today, and in the years ahead. Congratulations to the members of the third cohort of the Barakah Youth Council, and I look forward to hearing about their progress in encouraging young professionals to become leaders in this strategically significant sector."

Al Hammadi said: "ENEC continues to demonstrate our commitment to providing opportunities for the most talented UAE Nationals to join the UAE’s growing nuclear industry and develop cutting-edge skills and expertise to deliver clean electricity to support the development of the UAE’s net zero economy and tackle climate change. Engaging and inspiring youth has been a commitment of ours from day one and we will continue to provide UAE youth with the education, training and skills necessary to play a vital role in the UAE’s nuclear energy industry."

Since August 2018, ENEC’s Barakah Youth Council has been providing young employees from ENEC and its subsidiaries with a voice to champion change and drive continuous improvement. The BYC also strives to engage with students from across the UAE to highlight the importance of the UAE Peaceful Nuclear Energy Program and its benefits.

Construction work at Barakah Plant started in 2012 and progressed steadily since then. The development of the Barakah Plant as a whole is now more than 96 percent complete. Once fully operational, the four Units of the Barakah Plant will produce up to a quarter of the UAE’s electricity needs and will prevent the release of 22.4 million tons of carbon emissions every year.