Turkey needs to build several nuclear power plants as soon as possible to meet a surge in electricity demand in the next few years, the semi-official Anatolia news agency quoted head of a leading Turkish business association as saying Saturday.
Turkey will face an electricity supply crisis starting from 2014 or 2015 after the economic revival gains pace, said Sinan Aygun, the chairman of Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO), Xinhua repored.
Electricity demand in the country would rise to 202.7 billion kilowatt hours (kwh) in 2010 and economic growth could further boost the demand to 357.2 billion kwh by 2018, according to an ATO report on the studies of Turkey's energy market.
"This showed that Turkey has been late in making nuclear plant investments. If we had started to build nuclear power plants 10 years ago, we would not be talking about electricity deficit today, " Aygun said.
Turkey had plans to build its first nuclear power plant, but a 2008 tender for the project was cancelled by a Turkish court as a consortium of Russian and Turkish companies was the sole bidder.
Earlier this month, Turkish Energy Minster Taner Yildiz and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin signed a memorandum on building nuclear power plants.