UPDATE 2-Turkey mulls Balkan gas pipeline with Swiss

(Adds details, EGL interview)

ANKARA Feb 13 (Reuters) - Turkey is considering joining in building a natural gas pipeline through the Balkans via Albania to Italy along with Switzerland, Turkey's Energy Minister Hilmi Guler told reporters on Wednesday.

He also said Swiss company EGL EGL.S plans to build a gas power plant in Turkey and that Ankara may also sign a preliminary agreement deal with Switzerland in March which would include the issue of nuclear power.

The head of EGL's gas division Joachim Conrad said on Wednesday the company was seeking partners for the Adriatic gas pipeline, which it plans to build with Norway's StatoilHydro (STL.OL) but would rather not include Russia's Gazprom (GAZP.MM) for now.

Conrad was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a Zurich conference a day after EGL and Statoil announced they had launched a 50/50 joint venture company to build a Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) with envisaged costs of 1.5 billion euros ($2.19 billion).

In Ankara, Guler said Turkey was looking into becoming involved in constructing the pipeline.

"We are appraising with Switzerland the construction of a new natural gas pipeline that will pass through Albania and Italy," Guler told reporters.

"We in Turkey are assessing this project. We will raise the subject with the prime minister and discuss it with him and announce our decision," he said.

Turkey's fast rising energy consumption and market liberalisation has been drawing the attention of international investors, among them Austrian Verbund (VERB.VI), Czech CEZ (CEZPsp.PR) and German RWE (RWEG.DE).

Director of the Swiss Federal Office for Energy Walter Steinmann said Swiss company Atel ATN.S is also interested in Turkish energy projects.

Turkey is due to hold auctions for the construction and operation of three separate nuclear power stations with a total capacity of 5,000 megawatts by May, and the government has said construction is targeted to begin this year.

Tender conditions are expected to be announced on Feb. 21. (Reporting by Orhan Coskun)