VZCZCXRO2512
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #0884/01 0840806
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240806Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2110
INFO RUEHEE/GCC COLLECTIVE
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3583
RUEHTV/AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV 1101
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 3841
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0231
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1513
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0271
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA AU
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM 4937
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000884 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ELA AND ISN 
VIENNA FOR US MISSION TO IAEA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ENRG ECON KNNP TRGY JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN AMENDS LAWS TO ESTABLISH NEW NUCLEAR ENERGY 
COMMISSION AND SEPARATE REGULATORY BODY 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; please protect accordingly.  Contains 
proprietary information - not for distribution outside the USG. 
 
Refs: A) Email Burkart-Pisani 3/18/08 
      B) Amman 233 
      C) 07 Amman 1764 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Following Parliamentary approval of amendments to 
two nuclear energy laws, a Royal Decree was issued on March 12, 2008 
to appoint five commissioners to the newly established High 
Commission on Nuclear Energy.  All the commissioners are 
U.S.-educated in nuclear energy or physics, and two are dual 
U.S.-Jordanian citizens.  New High Commissioner Dr. Khaled Touqan 
briefed U.S. congressional staff members on an MFA-sponsored trip on 
March 18 on Jordan's nuclear energy plans, reconfirming Jordan's 
commitment to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) and 
indicating its openness to exploring various types of nuclear 
reactor designs offered worldwide (ref B).  END SUMMARY. 
 
Prominent Nuclear Physicist in Minister-rank Post 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶2.  (U) The Jordanian parliament approved in February 2008 Law No. 
(4), which amended Law No. (42) of 2007 on Nuclear Energy (ref C). 
The amended law established a new High Commission on Nuclear Energy, 
consisting of a Council of Commissioners, research staff, and 
executive staff.  The Commission is led by a ministerial-ranked 
Chairman who reports to the Prime Minister.  Four additional 
Commissioners, based on the Prime Minister's recommendation, are 
appointed by the Cabinet and confirmed by Royal Decree for a 
five-year, renewable term.  The Commissioners must be Jordanian and 
specialists in the nuclear science and technology fields.  The 
Chairman assigns a Deputy among the Commissioners, who assumes 
command during the Chairman's absence.  The Chairman and Council 
Members' salaries and all financial rights are specified by 
Cabinet. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) A Royal Decree was issued on March 12, 2008 to appoint 
former Education Minister Dr. Khaled Touqan as the Chairman of 
Commission; Dr. Kamal Al Araj as Commissioner for International 
Cooperation Affairs; Dr. Ayman Hawari as Commissioner for Nuclear 
Reactors; Dr. Nidal Al Zu'bi as Commissioner for Nuclear Fuel 
Cycles; and Dr. Abdul Halim Wreikat as Commissioner for Nuclear 
Sciences and their Applications.  Araj and Zu'bi are dual 
U.S.-Jordanian citizens.  All commissioners have PhDs or university 
degrees in nuclear energy or physics from U.S. institutions, 
according to Touqan.  NOTE: Per ref A, we understand from State/ISN 
that the announcement of Hawari's appointment may have been 
premature, as Hawari has still not agreed to return to Jordan to 
assume the position.  END NOTE. 
 
¶4.  (U) Article No. 7 of the new law allows the Cabinet, upon the 
Commission's recommendation, to designate specified areas in the 
Kingdom as areas for the discovery, extraction, or mining of nuclear 
materials.  If such a determination occurs, no agency will be 
allowed to grant any license or agreement for research or mining of 
any raw or natural materials in any of those areas, unless otherwise 
previously agreed to by the Commission. 
 
¶5.  (U) Parliament also approved Law No. (5) on Radiation Prevention 
and Nuclear Safety and Security for 2008, amending the similarly 
titled 2007 Law No. (43), to provide for the establishment of a 
separate Radiation and Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  During the 
March 18 briefing for the Jordanian-sponsored staffdel, Touqan 
explained that this body would be the closest counterpart to the 
American Nuclear Regulatory Commission, focusing on nuclear 
safeguards and regulations while the High Commission focuses on 
power generation projects. 
 
Jordan Supports GNEP 
--------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In response to a Staffdel member comment that the Global 
Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) did not enjoy universal 
congressional support, Touqan asserted that Jordan believes the GNEP 
is an important initiative for trying to meet global energy demands 
in a responsible way.  Jordan intends to be a part of the process as 
 
AMMAN 00000884  002 OF 002 
 
 
the GNEP continues to evolve.  Araj added that the GNEP is visionary 
in that it looks at Generation IV reactors with the aim of reducing 
toxicity and ensuring no one is able to tamper with or extract fuel. 
 
 
Looking for Reactor Technology Worldwide 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Even if U.S. support for nuclear energy diminished, Touqan 
opined that Jordan has sufficient allies in this field to stay the 
course and planned to keep all options open.  He noted that Jordan 
had already begun to engage reactor manufacturers from the U.S. 
(Westinghouse and GE), Japan, Canada, and France.  He said that 
Jordan is most interested in light water fuel reactor technology, 
but has not ruled out the Canadian "Candu" reactor which uses 
natural uranium.  The biggest concern with the Candu, according to 
Touqan, was that the reactor would need to be shut down for two to 
three years after 20-25 years of operation to do a full, costly 
refurbishment.  Touqan also indicated that Jordan received a 
proposal from France to build a reactor from start to finish in 
eight years, contrary to the more common 12-year timeframe, which 
although ambitious was an attractive prospect.  He said Jordan 
ultimately would consider various factors when deciding on a design, 
including the lifetime of the reactor, the lowest operating cost, 
and the capital investment. 
 
Financing Options 
----------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) When asked how Jordan would finance such a reactor, Touqan 
estimated that $1.4 billion would be needed for a 400MW reactor, 
while $2.5 to $2.8 billion would be required for a 1,000MW reactor. 
Touqan noted, though, that the seemingly high capital investment was 
made up in significantly cheaper operating costs.  He thought that 
Jordan would be able to finance the reactor through sales revenues 
of uranium, private financing, or foreign government financing.  In 
particular, he said that, should Jordan go with a French reactor, 
the French indicated that government financing might be available. 
Araj added that if Jordan opted for the 1,000MW reactor, which would 
be too large for Jordan's grid, the excess power could be sold to 
neighboring countries or used to desalinate water. 
 
Disposal of Waste 
----------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The Staffdel also asked about Jordan's plan for disposal 
of waste, noting that the U.S. had explored the possibility of using 
salt mines in Utah.  Touqan said that Jordan has geological depots 
for waste that are promising.  He also noted that Jordan signed a 
nuclear cooperation agreement with France that allows for spent fuel 
to be sent back to France, where the waste would be reprocessed and 
then shipped back to Jordan in a more compact form. 
 
Jordanian Public Largely Favors the Nuclear Option 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Regarding public sentiment, Touqan noted that when the 
idea of developing a peaceful nuclear energy program was first 
raised, critics did surface.  In general, however, he thought that 
the majority of the people in Jordan were in favor of nuclear 
energy.  He admitted that more needed to be done to educate the 
public on the benefits and safety of nuclear energy. 
 
Visit Amman's Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.gov.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
 
Hale