Russia ahead in bid to build Türkiye’s second nuclear plant – energy minister
Russian nuclear energy giant Rosatom is “ahead” in bidding to construct a second nuclear power plant in Türkiye, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
While Rosatom already began work at Türkiye’s first Akkuyu nuclear power plant in April, Ankara, which aims to install 20 gigawatts of capacity by 2050, is in talks with Russia, China, South Korea, and the US on the construction of two more nuclear facilities.
The $20-billion Akkuyu project, the first nuclear plant in Türkiye, is expected to provide more than 10% of the country’s electricity needs. It should enable Ankara to reduce the cost of power generation and result in lower prices for consumers, according to Bayraktar.
He noted that Russia’s experience with the Akkuyu plant makes it well-placed to build the new Sinop plant, a four-reactor facility on the Black Sea coast.
“This is the main reason why they’re naturally keen and in this sense I and many others think they’re ahead,” he told the outlet. Rosatom is “a company that’s invested in Türkiye and has gained experience,” he added.
Türkiye is also continuing negotiations with South Korea, another bidder for the Sinop project, according to the minister. The plant is expected to be a joint venture between public and private investors with the licensing process estimated to take two or three years, Bayraktar noted.
In addition to Sinop, Türkiye is in talks with China and the US on plans for a third nuclear power plant in the north-western Thrace region. According to Bayraktar, US nuclear technology company Westinghouse Electric is interested in building conventional and small modular nuclear projects in the country, with executives from the company scheduled to visit Türkiye later this month.
Meanwhile, Russia may also bid for the plant in Thrace, according to the head of Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev.
“It may well be so that several vendors will compete for it. We are not afraid of competition; on the contrary, it is more to inspire us,” he said earlier this year.
Moscow and Ankara have forged close ties in recent years, with Russia becoming Türkiye’s main oil and gas supplier. According to Bloomberg, broader participation in nuclear energy projects will give Moscow access to the country’s electricity market supplying some 85 million people.
