Turkey tied up a giant agreement with the UAE yesterday for the development of coal fields in southern Turkey to generate electricity and ensure power for the fast-growing economy.
The deal to exploit the coal reserves is a new signal of the rise of the Turkish economy and of wider links between Turkey and the Middle East. The agreement between Abu Dhabi-based TAQA and Turkey’s state-run power company EUAS marks the biggest Arab investment in the Turkish energy sector, a senior energy ministry official said.
“This is a very serious investment, a significant investment,” Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said at the signing ceremony in Ankara. “This is the second-biggest investment made in Turkey after the two nuclear power plant projects,” he added.
The government plans to build three nuclear power plants in hopes of preventing a possible energy shortage and reducing dependence on foreign energy supplies.
$ 12 bn UAE deal top Arab investment in Turkish energy
