Dubai, Feb 26 (IANS): The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has started commercial operations at the third unit of the South Korean-built Barakah nuclear power plant, South Korea's state-run utility firm said Sunday.

The Unit 3 reactor began its commercial operations Friday after the Middle East country issued an operating license last June and the process to insert fuel rods into the reactor started, according to the Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO).

It is one of the four nuclear reactors built in Barakah, 270 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, under a US$20 billion contract won by a KEPCO-led consortium in 2009. The project marked South Korea's first export of a homegrown commercial atomic power plant, Yonhap News Agency reported quoting KEPCO.

The first Barakah unit began commercial operations in April 2021 and the second one in March 2022.

The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. said Unit 3 adds 1,400 megawatts of clean electricity capacity to the UAE grid, with the total production from the three units reaching 4,200 megawatts.