Turkey,Japan to take pens for nuclear contract

A Japanese-French alliance led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and French firm Areva will build Turkey's second nuclear power plant, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Japan's daily Nikkei, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

The deal is expected to be signed tomorrow by Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, who will be visiting Ankara, Energy Minister Taner Y?ld?z told reporters.

"We are at the intergovernmental signature stage for the agreement on the nuclear plant to be built in Sinop with our Japan," Prime Minister Erdogan told Nikkei on April 30, according to semiofficial reports from Anatolia news agency.

"Japan has rich experience and know-how against earthquakes. Japan is also sensitive to the environment. French Areva has high technology," he said.

The alliance will build the nuclear plant expected to cost an estimated $22 billion in the Black Sea province of Sinop and the prime minister has said the works to choose an area has been kicked off. Giving further details about the structure of the investment he said: "I believe we should limit the project timing to a maximum of seven years from the planning to the completion of the construction. We plan to get a minimum 15 percent of our power generation from nuclear energy by 2030."

Energy Minister Y?ld?z also said that the Turkish public sector would also have a share in the plant but did not elaborate, speaking after a meeting with Nigerien State, Mines and Industry Minister Hamidou Tchian.


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