Turkey & UAE sign energy deal worth USD 12 billion
Turkey and United Arab Emirates have shaken hands on a project to develop coal fields in southeastern Turkey.
The project which is worth USD 12 billion covers the renovation of existing power plants in Afsin-Elbistan coal field, located in Kahramanmaras province, and the construction of new plants utilizing the same source, estimated to hold around 4.4 billion tons of lignite.
Parties have agreed to add 7 GWs of power to Turkey’s total installed capacity by building new plants in the region. At present, two coal-fired plants in Afsin-Elbistan have a capacity to generate 2,8 GWs combined.
Turkey’s Minister of Energy Taner YILDIZ spoke at the signing ceremony, saying “Turkey aims to reach 18,000 MWs of capacity utilizing coal reserves in the next 11 years”. The total amount of investments is expected to reach USD 12 billion and will ultimately create 8,500 new jobs.
The project is slated to be completed in 2021 and run by Turkey’s EUAS and UAE’s TAQA, both state-owned power companies,
Moreover, the project is supposed to reduce Turkey’s costly energy imports by using domestic sources to generate power, in line with country’s energy policies covering the next 10 years.
06.01.2013
BTT
