Ammon News - AMMAN (Petra) Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour was briefed on Tuesday on the progress of work on the Kingdom's nuclear energy programme during a visit to the Jordan Nuclear Energy Commission JNEC.

JNEC President Khaled Touqan told the premier during a meeting attended by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources and Transport Minister Alaa Batayneh that his commission had completed an economic feasibility study for launching an atomic reactor.

He said a study on the reactor's site had also been finalized with two sites in the northeast of the Kingdom being proposed. He said one of the locations will be the final choice taking into account an adequate water source to cool the plant as well, environmental factors and remoteness from communities.

Touqan said the commission had to choose between two contenders to carry out the project, a French-Japanese and a Russian bidder, pending technical and economic evaluation due to be announced in late March.

He said the proposed site will be passed to the cabinet which in turn will consult and coordinate with the Lower House before any decision is take.