Turkey to ditch Siemens for China contractor to build nuclear plant
Turkey’s first nuclear power plant has faced delays due to Siemens’ lateness in delivering of key parts.
ANKARA — Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said that Siemens equipment will highly likely be ditched for a Chinese contractor in Turkey’s first nuclear power plant, under construction in the country's south.
What happened: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July complained that Siemens’ delivery of key parts for the country’s first nuclear power plant was delayed. Siemens linked the delay to failed customs and export clearances from Berlin. The plant is being built by Rosatom, the Russian energy giant targeted by Western sanctions on Russia.
According to Bayraktar, the delivery problem was solved during German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Oct. 20 visit to Turkey. The German leader assured Ankara that the equipment would be delivered.
Too late: However, the Turkish energy minister added, Rosatom has already made arrangements to use Chinese equipment and that “there’s a 99% chance” that the German equipment won’t be used.
“The Russian side's response was: It’s too late now,” Bayraktar was quoted as telling Turkish daily Milliyet in an exclusive interview released on Friday. “The building intended for Siemens’ equipment was demolished and a different one is being constructed for the Chinese equipment.”
Know more: Siemens and German authorities' delivery troubles angered Ankara. Bayraktar said last month that it would reconsider working with the German firm on future projects.
The construction of the plant in Turkey’s southern province of Mersin began in 2013 under a Turkish-Russian deal signed in 2010. Turkey is also in talks with China, Russia and South Korea for the construction of a second and third nuclear power plant planned for the country’s Black Sea coastal region and the northwestern Thrace region, respectively.
