Turkey to finalise nuclear plant deal: minister

Turkey is close to deciding who will win a $22 billion-deal to build its second nuclear power station, its energy minister said on Monday.

"We are set to finalise this weekend the second nuclear power plant," Taner Yildiz was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.

The Turkish energy minister reiterated that Japan and China were "leading the race," without giving any clues about the likely winner.

A consortium of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and France's Areva are believed to be the best placed to win the Turkish contract to build pressurised water reactors in Sinop, on the Black Sea coast.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is to visit Turkey on Friday as part of a regional tour, would sign the deal with Turkish counterparat Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Japanese media reported last week.

Japan is increasingly looking abroad to boost its nuclear power industry after domestic demand collapsed in the wake of the Fukushima crisis two years ago.

Turkey, which relies heavily on gas and oil imports from Russia and Iran, is planning to build three nuclear power plants to reduce its dependence on foreign energy sources.

Ankara struck a deal with Russia in 2010 to build the country's first power plant at Akkuyu in southern Turkey.