Russia, Turkey expect fast progress of work on Akkuyu NPP
MOSCOW. July 26 (Interfax) - Russia and Turkey expect fast progress on work to build the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters.
"We discussed investment projects separately, including the construction of Akkuyu NPP," Dvorkovich said following a meeting with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek.
"There has already been progress here. The necessary regulatory foundation on the Turkish side is being refined. We expect that we will be able to move fairly quickly," Dvorkovich said.
Construction of the nuclear plant in Turkey has not formally been suspended. Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, which is carrying out the project, has not commented on questions regarding this subject.
A source at project company Akkuyu Nuclear told Interfax in December 2015 that the company was continuing its work. Another source close to the project company said that the project to build Akkuyu NPP was continuing.
At the beginning of June 2016, Akkuyu Nuclear legal director Ilya Smirnov said at Atomexpo 2016 that Rosatom planned to pour the first concrete at Akkuyu NPP in 2018. "The license for construction is expected to be received in 2018, the first concrete [is expected] in 2018," Smirnov said, adding that the first generating unit is scheduled to be launched in 2023 and construction is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
Akkuyu NPP is being built under a build, own, operate (BOO) arrangement, where the Russian company is the owner of the plant. Rosatom now owns almost 100% of Akkuyu NPP. In future it might decide to sell a stake of up to 49% in the $20 billion project to investors; at least 51% is supposed to remain in Russian hands.
