Rosatom Director General visited Akkuyu NPP site
February 28, 2023, Büyükeceli, Mersin Province, Türkiye. – Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev visited Akkuyu NPP construction site, where he met with the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Türkiye Fatih Dönmez.
Rosatom Director General expressed condolences to the families of the recent strong earthquakes victims in Türkiye and wished a speedy recovery to the injured: “Before moving on to our business agenda, we discussed measures related to the elimination of the consequences of the terrible earthquake in Türkiye. My colleagues, the builders of the Akkuyu NPP, having received information about the destruction, immediately went to Hatay to help rescuers pull people out of the rubble. And we will continue to provide help.”
During the visit to the construction site, Rosatom Director General was accompanied by AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC Chief Executive Officer Anastasia Zoteeva and other construction managers of the first nuclear power plant in Türkiye.
After the meeting with the Minister of Energy of Türkiye, Alexey Likhachev met with representatives of Turkish contractors performing construction and installation works at Akkuyu NPP site. Rosatom Director General spoke about the financing of the project, plans to build a residential campus for Akkuyu NPP operational personnel, terms for the delivery of fresh nuclear fuel to NPP construction site, as well as about the opportunities for Turkish companies to participate in other Rosatom projects abroad Russia.
Commenting on the results of the meeting with the Minister of Energy, Alexey Likhachev noted: “All Rosatom obligations are valid – fresh nuclear fuel will be delivered to the NPP this spring. Upon that, Akkuyu NPP site will receive the status of a nuclear power facility. This will be a major event for the global nuclear industry. In the third quarter, we will complete general construction and installation work at Unit 1 and will proceed to commissioning and start-up. Within a few months, in accordance with the IAEA requirements, we will test equipment and fuel in the reactor. The schedule is ambitious, but we strictly adhere to it."
For reference:
Akkuyu NPP is the first nuclear power plant under construction in the Republic of Türkiye. The Akkuyu NPP project includes four power units with Russian-designed VVER generation 3+ reactors. The capacity of each power unit will be 1200 MW. To date, the project is fully funded by the Russian side. The construction of the Akkuyu NPP is the first project in the global nuclear industry implemented according to the Build-Own-Operate model.
Under the terms of the Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Türkiye, the first NPP power unit must be commissioned within 7 years after obtaining all permits and licenses for the construction of the unit. Subject to the license obtained for the construction of power unit No. 1 in 2018, the commissioning will take place in 2025. At the same time, the project participants are making every effort to complete a key event, i.e. to ensure the delivery of fresh nuclear fuel to the Akkuyu NPP site in 2023, which is an anniversary year for the Republic of Türkiye.
