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| Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visits the construction site of the Barakah nuclear power plant project in UAE, where Samsung C&T participates, and takes photos with employees. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited the construction site of the Barakah nuclear power plant located in Al Dhafra, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) to check the business situation and construction progress, as well as offer encouragement to employees, according to the company, Tuesday.
This marks Chairman Lee's first overseas business trip after his inauguration.
It is the chairman's first visit to a business site in the Middle East in over three years since he visited a subway construction site in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia during the Chuseok holiday in 2019.
The Barakah nuclear power plant is Korea's first overseas nuclear power plant construction project being carried out by the Team Korea consortium, which includes Samsung C&T.
In his visit to the nuclear power plant, Lee toured the construction sites of the facility's 3rd and 4th reactors units, which are not yet fully commercially operational, and held a meeting with local employees.
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| Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong |
Lee listened to the difficulties employees face working at overseas construction sites, and offered his encouragement to the executives and employees.
The Barakah nuclear power plant project started construction in 2012 and has been ongoing for over 10 years.
During the Chuseok holiday last September, Chairman Lee visited the construction sites of Samsung Electronics' Queretaro home appliance plant and Samsung Engineering's Dos Bocas oil refinery located in Mexico to provide encouragement to employees.
He met with the heads of Samsung C&T, Samsung Engineering and Samsung Electronics in the Middle East prior to his visit to the Barakah nuclear power plant, received reports on local business statuses and discussed mid- to long-term strategies.
"The Middle East, which is pursuing a 'great change' to find a new growth engine, is a land of opportunity. Although it is a difficult situation, let's take a bold and challenging step forward," Lee said.
The chairman also visited a Samsung Electronics store in Abu Dhabi to directly observe the product sales situation and customer reactions.
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