Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev, pictured above, left, and Turkey's Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, above, right, held their talks in Istanbul, focusing on progress with the Akkuyu project.
Likhachev said: "The main efforts are focused on preparing for the launch of the first power unit - we are actively conducting full-scale commissioning work, we are currently preparing the reactor installation for loading fuel simulators. We understand how important it is for the Turkish side to launch the 'first nuclear electricity' into the Turkish energy system as soon as possible."
Bayraktar said: "We discussed the current status of the Akkuyu NPP site and the roadmap for commissioning the first power unit of the plant. We are working intensively to commission the first power unit as soon as possible. At the same time, the construction of the other three power units is ongoing."
According to a statement from Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, the two also discussed the possibility of Rosatom also being commissioned to build Turkey's proposed second nuclear power plant, in Sinop.
Akkuyu, in the southern Mersin province, is Turkey's first nuclear power plant. Rosatom is building four VVER-1200 reactors, under a so-called BOO (build-own-operate) model. According to the terms of the 2010 Intergovernmental Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, the commissioning of the first power unit of the nuclear power plant must take place within seven years from receipt of all permits for the construction of the unit.
The licence for the construction of the first unit was issued in 2018, with construction work beginning that year. Nuclear fuel was delivered to the site in April 2023. Turkey's Nuclear Regulatory Agency issued permission for the first unit to be commissioned in December, and in February it was announced that the reactor compartment had been prepared for controlled assembly of the reactor - and the generator stator had also been installed in its pre-design position.
The aim is for unit 1 to begin supplying Turkey's energy system in 2025. When the 4800 MWe plant is completed it is expected to meet about 10% of Turkey's electricity needs, with the aim that all four units will be operational by the end of 2028.
In March, Bayraktar was reported to have said that Turkey was talking to Russia and South Korea about the Sinop plant and was also in talks with China about plans for a third nuclear power plant, in the Thrace region in the country's northwest. He was also quoted as saying that despite there being some issues relating to sanctions to overcome they remained on track for all units being online by 2028.
Last week, according to the Tass news agency, Likhachev told Rossiya-1 television that sanctions had hampered its "legal entities, our banks, causing many problems" but said that, nonetheless, construction continued, adding "the dogs bark, but the caravan goes on".
