Turkey marks ceremony for first nuclear power plant

Turkey launched the construction of its first nuclear power plant in southern Mersin province on Tuesday, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

A total of 22 billion U.S. dollars will be invested in the controversial project, the first of three nuclear power plants Turkey plans to build to reduce its energy imports from countries like Russia and Iran.

"Development cannot happen in a country without nuclear energy," the Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said, addressing at the ceremony attended by the head of Russia's Rosatom, which will build and operate the Akkuyu power plant.

Yildiz and Kiriyenko were to lay the foundation stone for the construction of the power station, which is expected to be completed by 2020 and will have four power units with a capacity of 1200 MW each.

Located in the Akkuyu town of Mersin, the construction of the nuclear power plant is expected to be completed by 2020 and about 10,000 people will be employed at the plant, Minister Yildiz noted.

For his part, Sergei Kirienko, head of Rosatom said they want to collaborate with Turkish companies not only in Akkuyu power plant but also in third countries.

However, the advanced energy project has triggered doubts from environmentalists who have raised questions based on safety concerns and the location in an area rich in wildlife.

A group of Turkish protesters confined participants of the ceremony, local daily Hurriyet reported, saying the group locked iron doors of the construction site, keeping guests and journalists inside.

The police used water cannons to disperse the demonstrators as the group ignored warning of the security forces to allow guests out.

The launch of the power plant comes two weeks after Turkey suffered its most serious nationwide power cut in 16 years which exposed the shortcomings of its energy system.

In May 2010, Turkey and Russia signed the Akkuyu plant deal. In 2013, Turkey and Japan signed an agreement on building Turkey's second plant in the Black Sea province of Sinop.

Turkey plans to build a third nuclear power plant by 2018-2019 as a national project. Enditem