Turkey continues talks with Russia, South Korea, China and Canada to build two more nuclear power plants in Sinop and Thrace, but no agreements have been signed yet. This was stated by Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar on NTV.
„Previously, we publicly announced Turkey's long-term plan to build four more reactors in Sinop and Thrace. Regarding these projects, we are currently negotiating with South Korea, Canada, China and Russia. I would like to reiterate that we have not yet signed any agreements with any of these countries. We expect to receive a proposal that has the greatest contribution and recognizes that today's Turkey is not the same country as it was 30 years ago. Today, Turkey is a country dealing with nuclear energy. Our construction sector and our industrialists are already ready for this. They have studied and gained significant experience“, Bayraktar said.
He noted that he expects concrete proposals for cooperation from the participants in the negotiations on new nuclear power plants. “We want to work with technologies; localization is important for us. We want to work with the country that presented the most competitive offer, with which we can develop technologies and whose offer will make the greatest contribution to Turkey's nuclear sector“, the minister said.
Bayraktar also added, commenting on the policies of some European countries to gradually eliminate nuclear energy, that “Turkey has made the right choice by deciding to develop this sector, as the current crisis in the region has shown how dangerous it is to find ourselves in this situation without nuclear energy and diversification“ of energy supply.
Along with conventional nuclear power plants, Bayraktar noted, Turkey is showing great interest in small modular reactors. “We have set a goal to achieve a capacity of 5,000 MW by 2050. The Ministry of Industry and Technology has announced a very important program to stimulate this sector. This is of interest to both Turkish and foreign entrepreneurs. In other words, we firmly believe in the prospects of small modular reactor technology“, he added.