Turkey plans to build third nuclear plant with own resources

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey plans to start building its third nuclear power plant with its own means by 2018-2019 after it has acquired quality human resources, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said late on Oct. 22, after a three-hour meeting with representatives from the Energy Ministry.

“Turkey needed to wait until the 2000s to have its first nuclear power plant, lagging behind many other countries, such as France, which has around 60 nuclear power plants, and Japan, which has over 100. Turkey will have two nuclear power plants by 2023, and will start work to build its third nuclear power plant using its own resources by 2018-2019 as a national project after we have the qualified human resources in this area,” Davutoğlu said.

In 2011, Russian company Rosatom signed an agreement with the Turkish Energy Ministry to build and operate a nuclear power plant in the southern province of Mersin.

The construction of the nuclear plant in Mersin will start next spring, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız announced in a press conference earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s second planned nuclear plant, slated for the northern province of Sinop, was awarded to a Japanese-French consortium last May.