Saudi Arabia’s plans to build a nuclear power plant will speed up the Kingdom’s economic development as it would diversify its over-reliance on crude oil, a Saudi energy expert told Sputnik in an interview on Tuesday. “The decision to build a nuclear power plant in the kingdom is the result of serious research that confirmed the need for this step,” Saudi energy expert Said al-Shahrani told Sputnik. Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched several new strategic projects in the country, including one to build a nuclear research reactor. “The peaceful atom will spur development of several economic sectors such as energy, desalination, agriculture as well as oil and gas production,” al-Shahrani told Sputnik. In recent years, Saudi Arabia has been planning to begin building a nuclear power plant with the help of U.S. technology, but earlier this year, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said […]