ENERGY MINISTER REPLIES TO QUESTIONS ON NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS

Taner Yıldız responded to questions of newsmen at a press conference held in Ankara.

Emphasizing that the share of natural gas in the production of electricity last year downed to the level of 45 percent, Minister Yıldız said, "We target to lower this figure to the levels around 30 per cent by 2023 and replace the exported energy resources with the local resources of renewable energy as far as possible."

Upon a question asking if he approved the project of a nuclear power plant to be constructed in Akkuyu town of southern coastal city Mersin, Yıldız replied that the power plant will be a design of a sophisticated architecture and Turkey will earn 22 billion USD income from the each nuclear power plant to be built.