A South Korean energy giant has conveyed its preliminary proposal to Ankara for constructing a major nuclear power plant in Türkiye, media reports said on Tuesday.
Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) presented the proposal regarding the construction of four reactors capable of providing 1,400 megawatts (MW) of electricity in the northern province of Sinop, South Korea-based Yonhap news agency said, citing the company.
Türkiye has already said it plans to build the nation’s second nuclear power plant in Sinop. Deputy Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar last November said Türkiye had started negotiations with Russia’s state-owned atomic energy agency Rosatom for the plant. The Russian company also confirmed the talks.
Bayraktar had disclosed that Türkiye was also in talks with South Korean and U.S. companies for nuclear energy development. Official negotiations were also held with the Chinese government for the third power plant.
Talks for the plant in Sinop first began with Japan before they switched to Rosatom, which is already building Türkiye’s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, on the Mediterranean coast.
The scheduled completion of the first unit and nuclear fuel delivery is set for the first half of 2023. The remaining three reactors are due to start operation by the end of 2026, at a rate of one per year to have a total installed capacity of 4,800 megawatts ultimately.
KEPCO’s proposal came on the sidelines of its chief Cheong Seung-il’s trip to Ankara this week, where he held talks with Türkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez.
Yonhap reported that the project is forecast to be worth about 40 trillion won ($32.55 billion). It said the Turkish government asked KEPCO to submit a proposal in December last year.
The company reportedly said the proposal includes South Korea’s plan to carry out the project and information on its nuclear power plant construction capabilities.
"The two sides began discussions on the project in earnest. They will conduct a feasibility test to develop an optimum way to push for the project," Yonhap cited KEPCO’s statement.
It said KEPCO and the Turkish government are promoting the construction of four next-generation Korean nuclear power reactors (APR1400).
The scale of the project is expected to exceed that of the three nuclear reactors at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Korean business magazine BusinessKorea suggested.
The Barakah project marked KEPCO’s first overseas export of nuclear reactors after a deal signed in 2009.
A total of 10 APR1400 reactors are running stably at home and abroad, proving their technological prowess and safety, Cheong was cited as saying by BusinessKorea.
"Among nuclear power plant builders worldwide, KEPCO is currently the only operator that has gained customer trust by meeting budgets and deadlines," he stressed.
South Korea is said to have set a target of exporting 10 nuclear power reactors by 2030.