VIENNA, September 25. /TASS/. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar expects the first reactor of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant to be commissioned at the end of 2024. He confirmed this during his speech at the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna.

"The Akkuyu NPP, which is under construction is now the largest nuclear facility construction site in the world. The first reactor is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2024. Our priority in the energy sector is to form a sustainable energy policy, of which nuclear energy will be an important part, it will play a vital role in achieving carbon neutrality by 2053," he said.

"By 2035, the share of nuclear energy in the total energy produced in Turkey will be 7.2 gigawatts. By the end of 2050, we expect this figure to exceed 20 gigawatts," the minister said. According to him, the republic is interested in developing small modular nuclear reactors.

 

About Akkuyu NPP

 

The Akkuyu NPP is the first nuclear power plant to be built in Turkey. The project is being implemented in accordance with the inter-governmental agreement signed by Russia and Turkey in 2010. The power plant will include four Russian-designed VVER generation 3+ reactors. Each reactor’s power output will be 1,200 MWt. Once commissioned and brought to full capacity, the NPP will produce about 35 billion kWh every year. The plant is designed to provide up to 10% of Turkey's electricity needs.