Turkey rejects Korea’s nuclear reactor bid

Korea’ bid to win a contract to build a nuclear reactor in Turkey has hit a stumbling block as the government there has rejected its initial one, saying the proposal was not acceptable.

According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Thursday, Turkey’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz said that Seoul should get its bid “completely revamped” in the last stage of the selection process.

The remark was made Thursday during a media conference in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Industry experts here view the comment as a roundabout way of announcing Korea’s elimination from the four-way competition to win the nearly $20 billion deal for Turkey’s second nuclear reactor. The other countries involved in the bidding are China, Japan and Canada.

The Korean government has yet to decide whether to make a revised offer. “The government will continue to engage in dialogue with its Eurasian counterpart,” said Choi Tae-joon, the official at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in charge of the project. But he refused to say whether Seoul will change its bidding conditions.

According to the ministry and news reports by Turkish media, Yildiz said it’s hard to accept Korea’s proposal, adding it has fallen behind the three other contenders. The minister said there are two leading candidates but he didn’t provide detailed information.

In early December, according to the English-language Journal of Turkish Weekly (JTW), the minister said the competition is between China and Canada, adding the former has a better chance. Turkey will announce the preferred bidder in the near future with the exact date undecided.

“The financing conditions offered by China are more advantageous for Turkey,” the minister was quoted as saying in a report published on Dec. 10. “The final decision on this matter will be taken by the end of this year.”

In early November, the JTW reported Korea has “quite an advantage in its bid” but its request to offer guarantees could be “disadvantageous.”

Turkey is pushing forward a plan to generate electricity from 2019 with its first nuclear facility under construction by Russia and wants to build another reactor by 2023. The capacity of each reactor will be 1200 megawatts, according to JTW.

Choi said this is Turkey’s maneuver to “reinforce its bargaining power” in the ongoing negotiations. Choi said Turkey has opposed Seoul’s request of guarantees from the Turkish government.

“Massive funds are needed to build a nuclear reactor. So we asked for guarantees from the Turkish treasury to ensure smooth progress of the construction,” Choi said. “China, who is rich in foreign reserves, has pledged to build it with its own funds, which is a competitive advantage over the remaining three bids.” <The Korea Times/Park Si-soo>