Turkey intends to start the construction of its third nuclear power plant with
own resources by 2018-2019, local media reported on Wednesday, citing the
country’s prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Turkey, which will have two
nuclear plants in operation by 2023, will start work on the third after securing
enough experts with the necessary qualifications, news agency Anadolu Ajansi
reported, quoting Davutoglu.
In 2011, Turkey’s energy ministry contracted
Russian company Rosatom to build and operate the country’s first nuclear power
plant in the southern province of Mersin. The construction of the 4,800 megawatt
(MW) Akkuyu nuclear plant will commence in the spring of 2015, the news agency
said, citing Turkey’s energy minister Taner Yildiz.
A consortium of
Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Itochu Corp. and France’s GDF Suez agreed
to build Turkey’s second nuclear power plant in 2013. The plant, to be located
in the Black Sea town of Sinop, will have a capacity of about 4,500 MW and is
estimated to cost $22 billion (28 billion euro). Last week, local daily Hurriyet
quoted Yildiz as saying the plant will be ready by 2023.