Construction of nuclear power plants to be accelerated in Turkey

By Trend

The construction of nuclear power plants will be accelerated in Turkey, Trend reports on Aug. 16 referring to Resmi Gazete (Official Newspaper).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an order to accelerate the construction of nuclear power plants in the country. According to the order, the state structures must render the necessary support for the construction.

In early April 2018, the Turkish province of Mersin hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for laying foundation of Turkey's first nuclear power plant "Akkuyu", which was attended by the presidents of Turkey and Russia - Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin.

Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak called Akkuyu nuclear power plant Turkey’s 60-year-old dream.

Before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Ankara, the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority issued a license to build the first unit of Akkuyu nuclear power plant.

The agreement on the construction of Akkuyu nuclear power plant was signed on May 12, 2010, in Ankara between the Russian and Turkish governments, while on December 13 of the same year Akkuyu Nuclear JSC was registered.

The Akkuyu nuclear power plant project involves the construction of four power units with Russian WWER-1200 reactor plants of 3+ generation that meet the highest post-Fukushima safety standards. The capacity of each unit will be 1,200 MW. The cost of the project is estimated at $20 billion.