Bloomberg: Türkiye turns to China for next step in nuclear construction

Türkiye said it is closing in on an agreement with China for the construction of a new nuclear power plant, a step that would mark a leap in Turkish efforts to lower oil and gas imports.

Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said talks can be finalised “in a few months’ time” after Chinese officials recently visited the likely site of the future plant, near the borders with Bulgaria and Greece, according to Bloomberg.

“We’ve been in talks with a Chinese company for a very long time,” Bayraktar told reporters in a press conference on September 14, adding that any differences aren’t major obstacles. “So we will be able to fill the gaps and strike a deal soon with China for the nuclear power program.”

Under the deal, China would build what will likely be Türkiye’s third nuclear power plant. The first is under construction by Russia on the Mediterranean coast, while a second, on the Black Sea coast, is still in the planning phase. Russia’s Rosatom as well as South Korean companies are both interested in building the second plant, Bayraktar said, while Türkiye is seeking more local participation.

The Middle East’s largest non-oil economy sees nuclear as a key pillar of its efforts to lower the cost of its energy imports, which stood at just under $80 billion last year. For Beijing, it would mark a commercial victory, as the Chinese nuclear industry has failed to find many international buyers for its Hualong-1 reactor.

Beijing is negotiating with countries ranging from Argentina to Saudi Arabia for more sales, but Pakistan is currently the only foreign country that’s operating the reactor.

Bayraktar says Türkiye’s ultimate objective is to raise electricity output capacity from nuclear power to 20 gigawatts, nearly four times of what the Akkuyu plant can generate when it’s fully operational in a few years. To reach that target, Türkiye will probably need an additional capacity of 5GW from small modular reactors, known as SMRs, the minister said.