The nuclear regulator in the United Arab Emirates has given its approval for construction to begin on the Gulf federation's first nuclear energy plant.

The license granted Wednesday by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation will allow the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and a consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corporation to begin construction on the project's first two reactors. They are designed to meet growing demand for power in the country.

A UAE environmental regulator signed off on the project earlier this week.

Four 1,400-megawatt reactors are expected to eventually be built for at a coastal site in the country's far western region, near the border with Saudi Arabia.

ENEC hopes to have the first reactor running by 2017.