A venture led by Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is negotiating a consultancy contract for the country's first nuclear power station with the Turkish Electricity Generating and Transmission Corporation (TEAS). The venture was the low bidder out of six bidders in November (MEED 18:11:94).

A contract was expected by the end of December, according to industry sources. The TEAS brief calls for the design of a power station with a capacity of around 1,200 MW on the site at Akkuyu on the southern Mediterranean coast. The consultants will advise on the type of reactor to be used.

Design and construction tender procedure will take up to two years before erection work actually starts, say the sources. TEAS will then be looking to award a second consultancy for construction supervision.

Plans for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey date back to the mid-1970s when a permit was issued for the site at Akkuyu to the west of Silifke on the Mediterranean coast. However, plans for a reactor were not seriously considered until 1993, when demand and supply projections indicated a shortfall in capacity soon after 2000 which could not be filled by available conventional thermal or hydroelectric sources.