The country of some 10 million people has become a proponent of nuclear power, a low-carbon energy source, as it seeks to diversify its economy and attract foreign investment. Its first plant started commercial operations in 2021, Reuters reported.

Any contract for a new nuclear power plant would be worth tens of billions of dollars and could attract tender bids from China, Russia, and the United States, among others.

As the final reactor of the UAE's only nuclear plant is set to start commercial operations this year, Hamad Alkaabi said the government was evaluating whether to build a second plant.

"The government is looking at this option. No final decision has been made in terms of the tender process but I can tell you that the government is actively exploring this option," he said.

The government is projecting there will be a substantial increase in electricity use over the next decade that will be driven by population growth and an expanding industrial sector.

The government has yet to budget for a second power plant or decide on the size or the location, but Alkaabi said it was possible a tender could be issued this year.

Sources told Reuters in April the UAE planned a second nuclear power plant and that it could seek bids to build a four-reactor facility within a few months.

Any new power plant would likely consist of two or four reactors, said Alkaabi, who is the UAE's Ambassador to Austria and the Permanent Representative to the UN's nuclear agency

"It's a policy decision to give opportunity for all potential bidders," he said in an interview in Abu Dhabi.

Alkaabi said the UAE has had discussions with major developers of nuclear energy technology but did not name them.