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Erdogan believes Akkuyu NPP project implementation currently lags behind

The Turkish president believes the process can be pushed forward

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan

© EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV EPA/ANATOLY MALTSEV

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Erdogan Exclusive: New page in Russia-Turkey relations

ST. PETERSBURG, August 10. /TASS/. Implementation of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project currently lags behind, but the situation is mendable, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday during a meeting between the Russian and Turkish leaders with the representatives of the countries' business.

"At the moment Akkuyu NPP project implementation lags behind. But I believe that if we take the necessary steps, we can add speed up the process," Erdogan said. He added that the volume of investment in the project is estimated at about $22 bln.

The Turkish President also confirmed plans to implement the Turkish stream gas pipeline and focused on other aspects of the Russian-Turkish cooperation.

Erdogan said earlier at a press conference after the talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, that Turkey intends to grant the status of a "strategic investment" to the Akkuyu NPP project.

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According to him, this way the Akkuyu project will take place among a number of other similar projects in the country and will profit from all the necessary benefits that are given with this status.

The intergovernmental Russian-Turkish agreement on construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant was signed on May 12, 2010. This project includes construction of four power units (VVER-1200) with a capacity of 1.2 GW each in accordance with the Russian project "NPP-2006".

Due to tensions in Russian-Turkish relations, the future of Akkuyu NPP project was under question.

In June, Russian Nuclear Agency Rosstom said that the first concreting at Akkuyu NPP was planned in 2018. The first block is expected to be put into operation in 2023.

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