Turkey signs nuke plant deal with Japan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Japanese counterpart, Shinzo Abe, signed a $22 bln deal on Turkey’s second nuclear plant project on May 3 in the Black Sea province of Sinop, ending months of speculation about the winning bidder for the plant, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

“This is a very important deal. With this second nuclear plant, we have also taken the first step toward a third one, which is a lot to us,” Erdoğan told reporters after a signing ceremony with Abe. Erdoğan also emphasized Japan’s safety know-how and experience against earthquakes.

Underlining the significance of the agreement as Japan’s first nuclear deal since the 2011 nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Abe said safety would be the top priority for the project.

“We believe Japan will transfer its experiences and the lessons it learned from serious accidents to nuclear studies and will contribute to ensuring nuclear safety at the top level,” he said.

The consortium will also be responsible for the ground studies of Turkey’s third nuclear plant, which is slated to be built in a still-undetermined location, Reuters reported.

The first unit of the nuclear plant is set to be active by 2023, while the last unit will come online by 2028. “We have 10 years now to make the nuclear plant active. I believe we can shorten this period together,” Erdogan said.