The ring-shaped section consists of 12 reinforced concrete blocks and weighs 396 tonnes and measures 6.5 metres high.
The blocks were the first part welded together into a ring structure weighing about 115 tonnes before special consoles were welded on and a circular rail track installed for the circular overhead crane for the reactor building. It was then moved by crawler crane to the site for the installation.
(Image: Akkuyu NPP)
Sergei Butckikh, CEO of Akkuyu Nuclear, said: "The installation of the consoles to which the rail track of the polar crane is attached is usually performed ... after the installation of the tier. With a view of optimising the deadlines of further construction and installation works, we decided to mount the consoles when the tier was still on the ground, and then to mount the already assembled structure in the design position. Russian and Turkish specialists - installers, crane operators, slingers - once again demonstrated the highest level of professional skill and successfully installed a multi-tonnes structure."
The background
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 four unit plant will be Turkey's first (Image: Akkuyu NPP)
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.
