ISTANBUL, December 26. /TASS/. Russia has secured new funding for the construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, in the amount of approximately $9 bln, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said.

"Russia has secured new funding of approximately $9 bln for the Akkuyu project," the Dunya business newspaper quoted him as saying.

"This source [of funding] will likely be used in 2026-2027. In 2026 alone, $4-5 bln in external financing will flow to Turkey through this channel," he said.

Bayraktar also confirmed Turkey's plans to launch the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant next year. "2026 has been set as the target year for the first reactor to begin generating electricity," he said.

The Akkuyu NPP is the first nuclear power plant in Turkey being built by Russia’s state-run corporation Rosatom. The power plant will include four Russian-designed VVER generation 3+ reactors. Each reactor’s power output will be 1,200 MWt.