The fact that there was only one bidder in the tender, analysts say, may lead to its cancellation because it fell short of creating a competitive environment. The only bidder for the tender was the Park Teknik consortium, set up by the Russian AtomStroyExport and Inter RAO UES and the Turkish Ciner Group.
At a time when the construction of a nuclear power plant has been strongly protested by some groups, only receiving one bid for the tender has complicated things for the government. One month before the tendering date, the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry listened to the questions and requests from prospective bidders, but refused to introduce any changes to the tendering process or postpone the tender.
The Turkish Electricity Trading and Contracting Company (TETAŞ) had sent the sole bidding consortium's offer to the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency (TAEK) for an exhaustive technical examination. TAEK scrutinized the bid's compliance with technological criteria but found it unsuitable, a senior bureaucrat told Today's Zaman. In particular, the TAEK authorities found that it would be against Turkey's long-term interests to allow a Russian company to establish a nuclear power station that only uses a type of uranium produced for nuclear power plants in Russia. Thus, TAEK advised that the tender should be cancelled.
While TETAŞ noted that getting just one bid for a tender cannot used as a justification for cancellation, government officials reportedly want more than one bid for each tender. The third envelope, which contained the price, will not be opened as it was found that the technological criteria of the tender were not fulfilled, it said. However, the Cabinet will have the final say over the issue. If the Cabinet considers the bid acceptable, the Russian company will obtain a license from the Energy Market Regulatory Agency (EPDK) to proceed with construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant.
If the Russian company is awarded the contract, Russian interests in the generation of Turkey's electricity will rise from 35 percent to 55 percent. Turkey fulfills 60 percent of its natural gas needs from Russia, and it does not want to get into a similar situation with power generation. The final decision on the nuclear power station tender will be announced following a Cabinet meeting next week. A senior bureaucrat told Today's Zaman that both TAEK and TETAŞ will recommend that the Cabinet cancel the tender.
Russian dependence causes worries
While several environmental organizations are calling on the government to abandon its plans to build a nuclear power station, some groups argue that increasing Turkey's dependence on Russian electricity generation would be an irreversible error. They further argue that Russian nuclear technology requires the use of a uranium tablet produced only by Russia, so allowing a Russian company to build a plant for Turkey will mean that Turkey will be dependent on Russia for uranium supplies.
Half of Turkish electricity is generated from natural gas. A drop in rainfall in recent years and the use of outdated technology in thermal power generation have caused a sharp decline in the share of hydroelectric and coal-fueled thermal power plants as part of electricity output. Thus, the amount of electricity generated by natural gas power plants is increasing each year. About 35 percent of the country's electricity is produced from natural gas bought from Russia. The planned nuclear power plant will generate 20 percent of Turkish's overall electricity production. Thus, if the Russian company is awarded the contract, Russia's share in Turkey's electricity output will jump to 55 percent.
Russia already controls about 25 percent of the world market for nuclear energy, and it is reportedly holding talks with China and India to improve cooperation over nuclear energy.
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