A South Korean consortium has won the bid to build the first atomic research reactor in Jordan.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology says a consortium of the Korean Atomic Energy Research Institute and Daewoo Engineering and Construction has been chosen as the priority negotiating partner by the Jordan government to build an atomic reactor for research and educational purposes.

The project is to build a five-megawatt reactor and other facilities, including a radioactive isotope laboratory, by 2014 at the Jordan University for Sciences and Technology located 70 kilometers from Amman.
The two sides will sign a formal deal in March.
The deal marks the nation's first export of its own nuclear reactor after importing its first reactor, the TRIGA Mark-II, from the U.S. in 1959.

The Korean consortium beat out rival bids from Argentina, China and Russia.