The U.S. Export-Import Bank said on Friday it authorized a $2 billion direct loan to Barakah One Co of the United Arab Emirates to purchase U.S. equipment and construction services to build one of the world's largest nuclear power plants.
The credit line is expected to support approximately 5,000 jobs across 17 U.S. states and has the support of the White House's National Security Council as well as the departments of State and Energy, Ex-Im Bank said.
"In addition to bolstering American jobs, Ex-Im Bank will make history by backing the construction of the first nuclear power plant on the Arabian peninsula," Fred Hochberg, president of the U.S. Ex-Im Bank, said in a statement.
The move comes as the United States and other Western powers continue to heap sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program, which they believe is aimed at developing atomic weapons and Tehran says is for peaceful energy purposes.
Ex-Im said the loan is the largest in its history to the UAE and also represents the first new nuclear power plant it has helped finance since the late 1990s.
At the end of the 2011 budget year, Ex-Im had about $3.7 billion of credit exposure in the UAE.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/07/us-eximbank-uae-nuclear-idUSBRE88619020120907
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