Turkish nuclear plant delayed by withheld Siemens parts, China to supply
Russia's Rosatom building Turkey's first nuclear plant
Energy minister says few months delay
Siemens Energy cites export rules for decision
Rosatom seeking equivalent parts in China, minister says
Adds minister quotes, Siemens Energy comment and background in paragraphs 7 onwards
By Huseyin Hayatsever and Can Sezer
ANKARA, Sept 11 (Reuters) -The opening of Turkey's first nuclear plant has been delayed after Germany's Siemens Energy ENR1n.DE withheld key parts, prompting Russia's Rosatom, the builder and owner, to buy them in China, the Turkish energy minister said on Wednesday.
Siemens's non-delivery will delay launching the Akkuya power plant's first reactor by a few months, Minister Alparslan Bayraktar told state-run Anadolu agency. The decision likely stems from Western sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine, he added.
Though Turkey had initially planned to start up Akkuyu's first reactor in 2023, delays have pushed that back to next year, with the remaining reactors to come online by the end of 2028.
A Siemens Energy spokesperson confirmed that some parts were not delivered to Turkey due to German export regulations.
Bayraktar said that Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear energy company, has already struck deals with Chinese companies to produce equivalent parts, though he provided no company names.
"There are alternatives. Rosatom already ordered alternative parts from Chinese (firms), and they will come from China," Bayraktar said.
Turkey could consider fines against Siemens Energy over the delay, even though it has worked with the German company for years, he said.
"This attitude will make us question their position in future projects," he added.
Rosatom has been building the Akkuyu plant in the Mediterranean province of Mersin under an agreement with Ankara dating back to 2010. The $20 billion, 4,800 megawatt (MW) project includes four reactors, and would bring Turkey into the small club of nations with civil nuclear energy.
Siemens Energy gave no official reason for withholding the parts, Bayraktar said. It said Turkey understands that it could be related with sanctions on Moscow. Germany's sanctions and trade policies appear to be incongruous, he said.
The Siemens Energy spokesperson said: "Some parts were delivered a long time ago, but not for a good year now, due to export/customs licenses that have not yet been issued. We must of course comply with the export regulations."
Efforts by both Rosatom and Turkey to secure the delivery of the equipment failed and "Rosatom therefore ordered the equipment from Chinese manufacturers to keep up with project deadlines" Rosatom's subsidiary Akkuyu Nukleer said.
Turkey, maintaining close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv, opposes the European and U.S. sanctions on Russia, which were imposed after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Last year, nuclear fuel was loaded into the first power unit. The plant is ultimately expected to produce around 10% of local electricity production.
Turkey and Russia signed the inter governmental agreement for Akkuyu in 2010. Construction began in 2013 and picked up speed in 2018.
The agreement limits local ownership of the plant at 49%, requires the first reactor to be commissioned in 2025 and includes a power purchase agreement at a guaranteed price.
In July, President Tayyip Erdogan said Germany was delaying some parts required for the Akkuyu plant at customs.
"This has seriously bothered us. I reminded German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of that in our bilateral meeting," Erdogan said.
Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever and Can Sezer, additional reporting by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Angus MacSwan
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
