Turkey expects to pick this month the winner of a tender for the construction of a second nuclear power plant near the Black Sea city of Sinop, its energy minister said on Wednesday.

"Turkey will have finalised in January (its decision) on the project," Taner Yildiz said.

Ankara is in negotiations with China, Japan, South Korea and Canada to build the nuclear reactor.

Last month, Yildiz said that "Far Eastern countries are closer to winning the bid," a signal that Canada was no longer in the running.

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