The deadline for bids for a tender to build Turkey's first nuclear power station is Sept. 24, the Official Gazette said Monday, according to the Ihlas News Agency, or IHA.
The power station, which will have a capacity of 4,000 megawatts, plus or minus 25%, will be built at Akkuyu in the southern province of Mersin, the Official Gazette said.
The nuclear power tender was scheduled to open Feb. 21, but has been delayed while the Energy Ministry waits for government comment on the tender's technical details.
Power plants fueled by natural gas produce nearly half of Turkey's total electricity output. Turkey imports most of its natural gas from Russia and Iran.
In late February, Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said nuclear power should answer 20% of Turkey's energy needs and decrease reliance on imported gas.
Turkish construction firm ENKA Insaat (ENKAI.IS) said late January it has signed a preliminary agreement with Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEP) to cooperate on the nuclear energy project in Turkey.
The chairwoman of Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding AS (SAHOL.IS), Guler Sabanci also told Japan's Nikkei Business Daily Sunday that Sabanci Holding is interested in the tender, adding that it could cooperate with Japanese firms in the project.
Meanwhile Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding (KCHOL.IS) and Turkish gas and power company Zorlu Enerji Elektrik Uretim AS (ZOREN.IS) are among the firms that are interested in the nuclear energy project.