Jordan plans to issue a tender to invest in and operate a newly-built nuclear plant within two months, but the country's ambitious nuclear program could be slowed in the wake of increased political risk after the so-called "Arab Spring," a top Jordanian electricity executive said Monday.

Jordan plans to issue the tender soon after receiving bids for the engineering, procurement and construction, or EPC, package in July, said Bahjat Aulimat, head of generation planning at National Electricity Co.

The country remains committed to pursuing its nuclear program despite the Fukushima disaster in March, but the timing of its projects might be hampered by increased political risk in the Middle East following political uprisings in some Arab countries, Aulimat said.

"Expressions of interest from investors came before the situation in the Middle East , before the end of last year," he said. "But after the new situation, we realized that investing will be a big challenge for our program."

Some governments have retreated from nuclear since the Fukushima accident. Germany on Monday said it was planning to end its own nuclear program by 2022.

Three groups were prequalified earlier this year for the EPC, including Areva SA (CEI.FR), in consortium with Mitsubishi , Canada 's ACEL and Russia 's Atomstroyexpert, Aulimat said.

He said Jordan planned to hold 40% stake in its new nuclear plant. The kingdom is planning to build a total of five nuclear power plants of 1,000 megawatts each, to be built by 2020, 2023, 2028, 2031 and 2040, Aulimat added.

Jordan, poor in both energy and water resources, currently imports some 96% of its energy requirements. The Jordanian government estimates the kingdom will generate more than 30% of its total energy using nuclear power by 2040.
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