Turkey's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant to Be Launched by 2023 With Russia's Help

The head of Russia's Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, Alexei Likhachev, said during the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey could be launched by 2023.

The launch is set to take place when all obligations and terms are fulfilled, Likhachev noted.

The head of the Public Information Center of JSC AKKUYU NUKLEAR, Eyup Lutfi Sarici, confirmed this information in an interview with Sputnik Turkey.

"The prospects of launching the Akkuyu nuclear power plant by 2023 are quite real. JSC AKKUYU NUKLEAR has already sent a preliminary safety report to the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency. Now we are waiting for the relevant decision from the Turkish Atomic Energy Agency. It should be made by the end of this year and after that, we will start the construction of the nuclear power plant," Sarici said.

"The very process of building nuclear power plants will be quite fast, thanks to the technology of 3D printing used by Rosatom. Thus, the first unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant will be ready within 44-48 months after the start of construction," he added.

Russia and Turkey signed an agreement to construct and operate Turkey's first nuclear power plant at the Akkuyu site in the southern Turkish province of Mersin in May 2010. The plant is expected to produce about 35 billion kilowatt-hours a year.

The total amount of Russian investments in the project is expected to reach $22 billion.