Mitsubishi Heavy, Areva Lead in Turkish Nuclear Deal Race

Tokyo, April 4 (Jiji Press)--The alliance of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. <7011> and France's Areva SA is leading in the race to win a Turkish nuclear power plant deal, informed sources said Thursday. It would be the first time for Mitsubishi Heavy to construct a nuclear plant abroad. For Turkey's plans to build four nuclear reactors on the coast of the Black Sea by 2023, Mitsubishi Heavy and Areva, in tandem with the Japanese government, are promoting their jointly developed medium-size pressurized water reactor, ATMEA1. Chinese and South Korean makers have also been in negotiations for the Turkish project. Toshiba Corp. <6502> and Tokyo Electric Power Co. <9501> initially teamed up in bidding for a deal on the Turkish nuclear plant project. But TEPCO has dropped out in the wake of the nuclear accident at its disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in March 2011, leaving Toshiba negotiating alone. Mitsubishi Heavy is currently engaged in nuclear plant design in the United States while aiming to win nuclear plant deals in Jordan, Vietnam and Finland. Japanese makers are eager to expand business overseas, as no nuclear plant construction is expected at home for a while following the Fukushima No. 1 plant accident. END