Erdoğan signals fourth nuclear power plant project with China

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday gave a thumbs up for a fourth nuclear power plant for the country, saying Turkey is considering working with China on the project, according to Turkish Akşam daily.

Erdoğan’s statements during a press conference following a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit arrive following an announcement just last month that the country would build a third nuclear power plant expected to meet 10 percent of Turkey’s energy needs.

‘’China is looking favourably upon a third nuclear power plant. We will begin that, too, with God’s will. We have arrived at a good point. After some progress is made, we are considering starting the fourth [project] with them,’’ Erdoğan said.

The Turkish president and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin launched the construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, in a ceremony in the capital of Ankara in early April.

The controversial $20 billion project, which is Turkey’s first initiative into nuclear power, is located in the country’s southern Mersin province.