Turkey minister: ROK could lose nuke bid

A Republic of Korea (ROK) bid to build Turkey's second nuclear power plant will expire soon "unless the country comes up with a favorable offer," Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Y ld z told reporters Wednesday in Ankara. Turkey has been in negotiations with ROK as well as China, Japan and Canada for the construction of a planned second nuclear power plant in the Black Sea province of Sinop. The country had in 2010 agreed with Russia on the construction of its first such plant in Mersin's Akkuyu district. Currently, Turkey's reluctance to offer a state guarantee for the project's financing as the major stumbling block in the negotiations with the Republic of Korea. ROK has been demanding a state guarantee from Turkey for risk sharing because the investment requires a great deal of money. But Y ld z said the government had no such plans to offer this guarantee. "Companies that would like to take part should bring their own money," he said, adding that "otherwise, the country will be out of the game."