Turkey to build first nuclear plant on Black Sea shore

Miercuri, 13 februarie 2008, 14:04 English | Regional Europe

Turkey decided to build a nuclear plant in an area that already caused plenty of controversies. According to the Energy Minister, Hilmi Guler, quote by the international media, the Turkish government will open the bid for the project on February 21, with the winner starting to build the plant before the end of the year. Eight years ago, a similar project, also placed in the city of Akkuyu, was dropped because of financial problems and the protests of environment activists, backed by the Greek and the Cyprus governments.

The plant should come into production in 2013 - 2014, officials say. Environment activists are worried because the place that should host the facility is only 25 kilometers away from a seismic source.

Guler also said that preparations are made for the construction of a second reactor in Northern Turkey, close to the Sinop harbor. Turkey announced a total of three nuclear plant, with a total power of 5,000 megawatts, designed to prevent an energy crisis and to reduce the dependence on foreign providers.