The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) has announced that the first of the four reactors being developed in the UAE is more than 50 percent complete.

The company said in a statement that Unit 1 is now 57 percent finished while construction of the second reactor is also well underway.

It added that the whole project is progressing "on time and on budget", in accordance with ENEC's strategic objectives to supply safe, clean, reliable and efficient nuclear energy in the UAE.

ENEC's indicative timeline for the power station is for Unit 1 to start commercial operation in 2017, Unit 2 in 2018, Unit 3 in 2019 and the final Unit 4 in 2020.

The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) recently announced that it had granted ENEC approval to commence construction of Units 3 and 4, following an 18 month rigorous review by the regulator and a team of nuclear energy experts.

In May, ENEC celebrated the arrival of the first reactor vessel, one of the largest components in a nuclear energy plant.

In February, ENEC accomplished another key milestone, installing one of the largest condensers in the Middle East region. A condenser is a critical component used in all types of power plants and plays an important role in the generation of electricity, cooling steam back into water for the turbine generation process to repeat continuously.

The four APR-1400 reactors being developed by ENEC will provide approximately 25 percent of the UAE's electricity needs, saving up to 12 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

Korea Electric Power Corp won a contract in 2009 to complete four nuclear reactors in the UAE.