STORY: Erdogan unveils massive investment plans for southern Türkiye
SHOOTING TIME: March 7, 2024
DATELINE: March 8, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:02
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the southern Mersin province of Türkiye (courtesy of ihlas news agency)
2. SOUNDBITE (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President (courtesy of ihlas news agency)
3. various of the meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the southern Mersin province of Türkiye (courtesy of ihlas news agency)

STORYLINE:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday unveiled massive investment plans for southern Türkiye.

During a rally in the southern Mersin province ahead of the March 31 local elections, Erdogan said the Justice and Development Party-led government will advance development in the southern region following the construction of the country's inaugural nuclear power plant in Mersin.

The reactors of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Mersin, which will produce 35 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, will be in full service by 2028, Erdogan said.

SOUNDBITE (Turkish): RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, Turkish President
"The reactors of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in the southern Mersin province of Türkiye, which will produce 35 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, will be in service by 2028."
 
In 2010, Türkiye and Russia reached a deal to let Russian state company Rosatom build and operate the Akkuyu plant, which is designed with four nuclear reactor units, each with a capacity to generate 1,200 MW of electricity. The construction began in 2018 and is scheduled to complete in 2026.

Erdogan said his government has made more than 210 billion Turkish lira (6.5 billion U.S. dollars) of public investment in Mersin in 21 years.

He pledged to make further investments in the southern region.

While citing the transportation investments, Erdogan said his government works to construct a high-speed train line connecting Mersin to nearby provinces such as Adana, Osmaniye, and Gaziantep.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)