Jordan says it has signed a $130 million agreement with a South Korean consortium to build the kingdom's first nuclear research reactor.
The consortium, led by state-run Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute and Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co., will build a 5-megawatt reactor, a radioactive isotope manufacturing facility and a nuclear training center.
The official Petra news agency said Tuesday the reactor will be fully commissioned within five years and a nuclear power plant will be built by 2017. Construction is to start later this year near the northern city of Irbid.
Resource-barren Jordan is developing a peaceful nuclear program with US support. It says alternative energy sources are needed to generate electricity and desalinate water.