Rosatom plans physical launch of Akkuyu NPP in Turkey in 2024

MOSCOW. April 27 (Interfax) - The physical launch of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkey is planned for next year, the Rossiya-24 (VGTRK) television channel quoted Alexei Likhachev, CEO of Russia's Rosatom atomic energy corporation, as saying on Thursday.

"We plan next year to start up the reactor, bring it to a minimum controlled capacity, and begin gradually increasing the reactor's capacity [...] so as to be able to steadily generate electricity in 2025," Likhachev said, noting that this timeline is stipulated in the relevant intergovernmental agreements between the two countries.

It was reported earlier that the NPP could be launched as early as in 2023, on the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey.

Rosatom is building the Akkuyu NPP on the BOO (Build - Own - Operate) terms, which imply Russia's ownership of the foreign nuclear power plant. Currently, Rosatom companies have a nearly 100% share in the Akkuyu Nuclear capital. The price of the NPP building project is estimated at around $22 billion.

The plant is expected to operate four 1,200 MW power units.

The first concrete was poured for the first reactor unit of the Akkuyu NPP on April 3, 2018. The pouring of the first concrete for the second unit of the NPP took place in late June 2020. The construction of the third unit began in March 2021, and Rosatom started building the fourth unit of the Akkuyu in July 2022.