Turkey to change nuclear energy tender law-source

Sunday, November 16, 2008

ISTANBUL, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Turkey will make changes to a nuclear energy tender law nearly two months after it received just one bid in a tender to build the country's first nuclear power plant, an Energy Ministry source told Reuters on Tuesday.

A consortium comprised of Russian Atomstroyexport and Inter Rao along with Turkey's Park Teknik Group was the sole bidder in a tender to build and operate Turkey's first nuclear power plant in Mersin on the Mediterranean coast.

Turkey plans to build three nuclear power plants with a capacity of 4,000 megawatts, plus or minus 25 percent, as part of efforts to reduce a costly dependence on energy imports.

Turkey is still considering the bid submitted by the Russian-Turkish group, the Energy Ministry source said. The Nucear Energy Board said previously it had asked for more information from the consortium.

'There have to be some changes in the nuclear tender law for the second tender. The changes will also be valid for the Mersin tender if that tender is cancelled,' the Energy Ministry source told Reuters.

Many companies had requested changes to the law before the tender. Analysts say it doesn't provide enough guarantees to investors.

Analysts expected Turkey to cancel the tender after it received only one bid from an initial thirteen companies that had initially bought tender documents for the plant.

Among the companies which had previously expressed interest in the tender were Sabanci, General Electric, Hitachi Nuclear Energy and Spanish utility Iberdrola SA.

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