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Akkuyu nuclear plant’s first reactor more than 90% ready — Turkey’s Energy Minister

Alparslan Bayraktar expressed hope that thr plant would start generating first electric power in 2025

ANKARA, October 9. /TASS/. Readiness for the start is over 90% for the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, Energy Minister of Turkey Alparslan Bayraktar said at an energy conference in Istanbul.

"Construction of our first nuclear reactors is underway at present. Four nuclear reactors of the Akkuyu NPP are being concurrently built in Mersin. The nuclear construction site in Mersin is the world’s largest NPP building site. The progress for the first reactor is over 90%. I hope we will start generating first electric power there in 2025, and we will meet 10% of Turkey’s electricity needs from this NPP alone on account of commissioning three remaining reactors by 2028," the minister said.

The Akkuyu NPP "is not the only project in the nuclear sphere Turkey is focusing on" in the context of development of its energy strategy, Bayraktar said. "We seek after increasing the total capacity of nuclear power plants to the volume of 20,000 MW by 2050. This is the long-term goal. Certainly, this means not only conventional NPPs, with two more planned in Sinop and Thrace, but small modular reactors also," the minister noted.

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