Turkey to Allow Second Nuclear Plant
Turkey's parliament approved a law on Wednesday paving the way for the country's second nuclear power plant to be built by Japanese and French companies on the northern Black Sea coast.
In May 2013, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHVYF) (MHE) , Itochu Corp. and France's GDF Suez agreed to build the plant at an estimated cost of $22 billion.
Approval of the law, providing the legal basis for the construction, is a vital step in the process.
The 4,800 megawatt plant in the Black Sea town of Sinop will use Atmea1 reactors developed by MHE and French Areva.
The authorities hope the plant might come online by 2023, the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Turkish republic. However, it still needs additional approval from domestic and international regulatory bodies before work can proceed.
The first Turkish power plant, a Russian designed project, is due to be built at the Akkuyu site in Turkey with construction expected to start in April 2015.
The Akkuyu plant will have four power units of 1200 megawatt (MW) each, producing a total of about 35 billion kilowatt-hours per year. The project's cost is estimated at $20 billion.
Reporting by Orhan Coskun
