Updated on Saturday, July 04, 2009, 12:34 IST

Ankara, July 04: Turkey is in the process of studying the Russian proposal for constructing country's first-ever nuclear power plant.

"For Turkey this will be the first nuclear power plant project, and we wish this first attempt to lay a reliable basis from the standpoint of tariffs, infrastructures and legal aspects," Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said.

A consortium of Russian companies ZAO Atomstroiexport and OAO Inter RAO UES and Turkish firm Park Teknik are the sole bidder for the plant.

Their proposal was submitted to the Council of Ministers for consideration back last April but its analysis has taken far more time.

"The Energy Ministry is in the process of studying the Russian proposal and we shall be able to hand over our report to the Council of Ministers after a while," he said.

If the government agrees with the project's value and all proposals regarding a future price of one kilowatt-hour of electricity to be produced, Turkey's first nuclear power plant may go operational in Mersin, on the Mediterranean, by 2012.

The Russian general contractor suggests building four reactors with a total capacity of four gigawatts on the basis of the NPP-2006 project.

The contract's value is estimated at USD 7-8 billion.

Bureau Report