Russia Confirms Official Start Of Construction At Turkey’s Akkuyu

11 Dec (NucNet): A ceremony took place on 10 December 2017 to mark the beginning of construction work at the Akkuyu nuclear power station site in Turkey, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said. Work will be carried out under the limited construction permit issued by the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK). Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, the Russian company developing the Akkuyu project, received the limited construction licence from TAEK in October 2017. The licence is the first step to obtaining a full construction licence for the project. The full licence is expected to be issued in March 2018, when first concrete will be poured for Unit 1, Rosatom said. The €20bn ($23.5bn) Akkuyu nuclear station, near Mersin on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast, is to be built in cooperation with Russia under a contract signed in 2010. The station will have four Generation III+ 1,200-MW VVER units, with the first expected to come online in 2023. Rosatom said that preparatory work has already been completed for the foundation of the base plate for the Unit 1 reactor building. The work was carried out by a Turkish contractor and that the Akkuyu project offers “significant opportunities” for Turkish suppliers. According to preliminary estimates, Turkish companies will fulfill 35-40% of all construction work, equivalent to $6bn-$8bn. Rosatom said more than 350 Turkish companies have applied to be included in the list of potential suppliers.