Turkey to build 23 nuclear power units by 2023

Turkey determined to have its own nuclear power plant, aims to build "at least 23 nuclear units by the year 2023, the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Taner Yildiz said on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum held in Istanbul.

The minister said the ambitious plan involved establishing nuclear power plants in three regions of Turkey.

``We are a country without a nuclear power plant. However, we are determined to have nuclear power plants,'' Yildiz.

According to him, the number of nuclear power plants in the world exceeded 440 and that while nuclear power plants involve risks, they also offer many opportunities.

At least half of all the nuclear power plants are located in three countries, namely U.S, France and Japan, he said.

``We can relate a country's development to the number of nuclear power plants it operates.  ``We can see that accidents as in Fukushima do not affect decisions to have and operate nuclear power plants,'' Yildiz noted.

The World Economic Forum on Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia begins on Tuesday and would last for two days.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas were among the 70 countries leaders attending the meeting.
LINK