Turkey on Friday signed a $2 billion deal with Japan for constructing Turkey's second nuclear power plant in the Sinop province on its Black Sea coast.
The deal was signed during a visit to Turkey by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as part of a week-long trip, which has already taken him to Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Under the deal, the new plant in the province of Sinop will be constructed by a Japanese-French consortium led by France's Areva and Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The new plant, which would have four reactors with a combined output of 4,800 megawatts, is expected to be operational in 2023.
The consortium will also be responsible for conducting ground studies on the construction of a third nuclear power plant in Turkey. The deal was signed despite the 2011 meltdown of reactors at the Fukushima power plant in Japan following an earthquake and tsunami.
Moreover, Turkey, like Japan, is prone to frequent earthquakes. The Turkish government had said earlier that Japan's expertise in earthquake protection was one of the main factors that prompted it to award the contract to a consortium involving Japanese companies.
After the deal was signed in Ankara on Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended his government's decision to award the contract to Japanese companies in spite of the Fukushima disaster. He said Japan has since enhanced its nuclear safety standards with the use of improved technology.
Meanwhile, Abe said Japan had learned from the Fukushima disaster, and stressed that the country has since raised its nuclear safety levels to the highest possible levels. Stating that Japan will share its experiences with Turkey, Abe stressed that safety would be the top priority for the new project.
Japan is currently attempting to promote the export of its technological expertise as part of its efforts aimed at boosting growth and reviving its stagnant economy. Turkey, on the other hand, wants to enhance its domestic energy generation to reduce its dependence on imports.
A day earlier, Japan had signed a nuclear cooperation pact with the United Arab Emirates during Abe's visit to the oil-rich Gulf Kingdom. Incidentally, it was first such deal signed by Tokyo since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdowns.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com