MERSIN /Turkey/, April 27. /TASS/. The physical start-up of the first power generating unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant is scheduled for next year, Alexey Likhachev, Director General of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom, told reporters on Thursday.

"We plan to carry out a physical start-up next year, bring the reactor to the minimum controllable power level in order to generate electricity steadily in 2025," he said.

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. The construction of the first nuclear power unit is planned to be completed this year.

To date, the project is fully funded by the Russian side. The construction of the Akkuyu NPP is the first project in the global nuclear industry implemented according to the Build-Own-Operate model. The facility will be operated by a large number of local specialists, who were trained or continue to be trained in Russia.