Competitors close in Sinop nuke plant race

BEIJING/TOKYO - Anatolia News Agency

Minister Yıldız says China and Japan are almost at the same status in competition. AA Photo

Japan and China are being considered as contenders for the planned Sinop nuclear power plant project, along with Canada and South Korea, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız has said in an interview with Japanese Nikkei Business Daily.

Yıldız said Japan, China and South Korea were almost neck and neck in the race, but that each country had its own strengths and weaknesses in terms of what it could contribute to the nuclear plant project.

Japan’s strength, for example, is its technological efficiency, said Yıldız, adding that “Japan needs to speed up certain domestic regulations” following the tsunami disaster last year.

He said an agreement had been signed with China that the nuclear energy would be used for peaceful purposes and would not be used for military means or transferred to third parties.

“Japan and China have almost reached the same status [with regard to building the Sinop plant],” said Yıldız, who confirmed that the government planned to make its final decision soon.

South Korea had appeared to be a front-runner, but negotiations hit a dead-lock in 2010 when the Turkish government asked for a government guarantee from South Korea. Afterwards, Turkey turned to Japan’s Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) and Toshiba for the construction of the plant, but following the earthquake, TEPCO pulled out of the consortium.