Turkey and Korea still talking

Monday, 15 November 2010

South Korea and Turkey have not managed to reach an agreement on the construction of a new Turkish nuclear power plant, but both sides have said that negotiations will continue.

 

Prime Minister Erdogan and President Lee before bilateral talks (Image: Korean Presidency)

An announcement from Korea's Ministry of Knowledge Economy cited electricity sales prices as an issue which has stood in the way of an agreement. The announcement suggests that both sides wish to continue discussions.
 
In March 2010, Korean and Turkish companies signed a deal giving the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) five months to come up with a bid to build a new nuclear power plant at Sinop on Turkey's Black Sea coast. The plant was to comprise four APR-1400 pressurised water reactors. The two countries subsequently signed a memorandum of understanding on nuclear cooperation.
 
In the meantime, Russian and Turkish heads of state signed an intergovernmental agreement for Russia's Rosatom to build, own and operate Turkey's first nuclear power plant at Akkuyu on the Mediterranean coast. That deal was the culmination of a long drawn-out tendering process which had seen the Turkish government cancel the tender at the end of 2009 before ultimately sealing a deal which sees Russia providing the initial finance for the project and the Turkish Electricity Trade and Contract Corporation (TETAS) guaranteeing to purchase a fixed amount of the plant's output over the first 15 years of commercial operation.
 
Nuclear power was among the subjects under discussion in bilateral talks between President Lee Myung-bak of Korea and Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held in conjunction with the recent summit of the G20 nations in Seoul.
 
In the meantime, press speculation suggests that Turkey may be about to invite Japanese company Toshiba to join discussions on possible power plant construction. According to AFP, citing the Anatolia news agency, Turkish energy minister Taner Yildiz told journalists that as well as extending an invitation to Toshiba, US and European companies would also be considered as possible partners.
 
Researched and written 

by World Nuclear News