Jordan plans several small nuclear reactors

Amman, Nov 6:

said Tuesday that it plans to build several

with small capacities for power generation, Xinhua reported citing the state-run Petra news agency.

"We plan to build several small nuclear reactors after the country's first large reactor is built," Khaled Toukan, head of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, was quoted as saying.

Last week, Jordan selected Russia's Rosatom to build the country's first large nuclear reactor that has a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts. The large reactor, which costs about $10 billion, will be ready in 2020.

After the reactor, to be built by the Russians, is ready, Jordan will build several small reactors. Each of the small reactors will have two power plants with each having a capacity of 180 megawatts, Toukan said.

Jordan imports about 96 percent of its energy needs annually. The kingdom is also working on several projects in field of oil shale and renewable energy to generate electricity.