Turkey plans to construct a nuclear power plant right on the Bulgarian border in the region of Eastern Thrace, virtually on the Black Sea coast.

The site of what is planned to become the third nuclear power plant in Turkey, with projects for the other two already underway, will be the small Black Sea town of Igneada, a town of some 2 000 inhabitants, located 5 km south of the Rezovska (Rezovo) River, which marks the Bulgarian-Turkish border, according to reports in the Turkish press citing sources from the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

There is no border crossing near the village of Rezovo, which is located on the mouth of the Rezovska River on the Bulgarian-Turkish border, the closest Bulgarian-Turkish border crossing is at Malko Tarnovo, about 45 km to the west of the future Turkish NPP in Igneada.

The Black Sea city of Burgas, the fourth largest city in Bulgaria, is located only 75 km north of Igneada.

The project for the construction of the Turkish nuclear power plant in Igneada is the third in line in the plans of the Turkish government after the NPPs in Akkuyu and Sinop.

In May 2010, Turkey reached an agreement with Russia for the construction of what will become Turkey's first nuclear power plant in Mersin's Akkuyu district.

According to the agreement, Russia's state-run Atomstroyexport JSC will construct four 1000 MW reactors at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, and will have a controlling stake in the project. The project is estimated to cost about USD 25 B and was approved by Turkey's Parliament in mid-July.

Turkey's Akkuyu NPP is viewed in Bulgaria as a competitor to the potential second Bulgarian NPP at Belene on the Danube where Atomstroyexport is supposed to construct two 1000 MW reactors.

After months of talks, at the end of 2010 Japan came closer to grabbing from South Korea a deal for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey, which should become Turkey's second, to be located in Sinop on the Black Sea.

In January 2011, Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz announced that leading French companies Areva, GDF and EDF have offered Turkey to build what should become the country's third nuclear power plant. He did not elaborate on the details of the project, but said talks with French authorities are continuing.

Tekirdag in European Turkey and the capital Ankara were reported at the time to be the most likely locations for Turkey's third NPP. Reports suggest that TAEK has identified Igneada on the Black Sea, as a third nuclear power plant site, future NPP site itself being 12 km from the Bulgarian border. Turkish environmentalist groups are said to be opposed to the construction of a NPP in the Thrace region in European Turkey.

The nuclear disaster in Japan's Fukushima Daiichi NPP caused by the devastating March 11 earthquake has not affected Turkey's plans for building three nuclear plans.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Ergodan has recently declared that the first Turkish nuclear plant in Akkuyu will be exemplary for the world in terms of safety.

Greece and Cyprus recently voiced strong concerns over Turkey's plans to build the Akkuyu NPP, described as a coastal nuclear power plant close to an earthquake-prone area, dismissing neighbors' fears that Japan's nuclear disaster shows that the new plant could be a risk to the whole Mediterranean region.

Greece and Cyprus say the move is a gamble that could cause a catastrophe and want the European Union to scrutinize the EU candidate's plan. The future Akkuyu plan will be on the Mediterranean coast, close to the Ecemis Fault, which an expert says could possibly generate a magnitude-7 quake.

Igneada, the most likely site of the third Turkish nuclear power plant is only 5 km south of the Bulgarian-Turkish border, on the Black Sea coast. Map by neredennereye.com

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