Turkish minister says nuclear energy plan revived
Date: 29-Nov-02
Country: TURKEY
Turkey's last government froze plans to build a multi-billion-dollar nuclear power plant in mid-2000, saying Turkey needed to wait for the country's finances to stabilise and improved technology.
A tender to build a nuclear plant on the Mediterranean coast near Akkuyu had been many years on the books, but it faced environmental opposition focused on concerns it would be built too close to active earthquake faultlines.
Coskun told reporters after a speech to the Istanbul Chamber of Industry that the new Justice and Development Party (AKP) government planned to push ahead with plans for nuclear power generation as well as more environmentally friendly methods such as wind and hydroelectric power.
Coskun gave no further details of timing or specific plans for nuclear power generation.
The AKP won a landslide election victory on November 3 to form Turkey's first single-party government in 15 years.
It has pledged to stick to the main planks of a $16 billion IMF rescue programme aimed at overcoming a devastating financial crisis last year that led to the worst recession since 1945.
Turkey is currently expanding its electricity production from natural gas in order to make use of excess imports already contracted in previous years.
Turkish electricity consumption was 126.8 billion kWh in 2001, down one percent from 2000 as the economy contracted following the crisis. A projected recovery this year is expected to raise consumption by four percent to 132 billion kWh.