Jordan agrees deal for Russia to build nuclear plant

Jordan said Tuesday it has signed a framework agreement with Russia for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the kingdom at a cost of $10bn.

The deal was signed by Khaled Tukan, head of the Jordan Atomic Enegry Commission, and Sergey Kirienko, chief executive of Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom.

The agreement "defines the legal and policy framework" for cooperation on the project, Tukan said, quoted by the official Petra news agency.

It also covers the terms of supplying fuel for the plant and treating waste.

The facility, which is to be built in the Amra desert area north of Amman, would include two 1,000-megawatt reactors.

Energy-poor Jordan says it wants to develop nuclear power to meet its growing needs and to fire desalination plants to overcome its crippling water shortage.

Due to be completed in 2023, the project will be 49 percent financed by Moscow.

A Russian-built nuclear power plant may also be on the table for Egypt following talks in February between Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The framework also comes as a 15-year, multi-billion gas supply deal between a Jordanian company and the partners in Israel's largest offshore gas field looks shaky.