ISTANBUL (Dow Jones)--Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said Wednesday the government plans to invite bids for a tender to construct the country's first nuclear power plant in April 2008, the Ihlas News Agency, or IHA, reported.
Speaking at a press conference held on nuclear energy, Guler said initially the country will get nuclear power in its portfolio of energy sources via a 5,000 megawatts package under Turkey's plans to diversify its energy sources.
The Turkish government previously said it planned to build three nuclear plants with a total capacity of about 5,000 megawatts to become operational in 2012 in a bid to prevent a possible energy shortage and reduce dependence on foreign energy supplies.
Guler said the state-run electricity trading and contracting company will be able to issue tender notices from Feb. 21.
He also added that tender conditions will include a 'purchasing guarantee' for all the energy produced by nuclear plants - a point regarded as important by potential investors.
Turkey, which is experiencing rapid economic growth, is expected to face serious energy shortages in the coming years. The government is looking to diversify its sourcing of electricity at the same time as increasing output.
However, previously, the plan to build nuclear plants and the possible location of one of the reactors - Sinop, a Black Sea coast city 435 kilometers northeast of Ankara - triggered protests from residents and environmentalists.
Turkey had abandoned plans to build a nuclear plant in July 2000 amid financial difficulties and protests from environmentalists in Turkey and neighboring Greece and Cyprus .
Opponents had said that the proposed site - Akkuyu, on the Mediterranean coast - was only 25 kilometers from a seismic fault line