The construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey never stopped during the pandemic period, not even for an hour, Rosatom Direcotr General Alexei Likhachev has said.
“The construction of Unit 1 proceeds ahead of the schedule stipulated by the intergovernmental agreement,” he told the Rossiya-24 TV channel. “In the past 18 months, during the tough period of the pandemic, the construction never stopped – not for one day, not even for one hour. The epidemiological situation has always been under control, we have managed to prevent any outbreaks.”
“We hope that this <…> will continue in the coming decades, as the flagship project of the Russian-Turkish cooperation,” Likhachev added.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visited the construction site of the Akkuyu NPP in Mersin on Friday. Turkey expects that the construction of the first reactor of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant will be completed by May 2023, he said. The president also noted that the construction “is going smoothly” and thanks to the efforts of workers and engineers, “the plant is being built quickly.”
Akkuyu Nukleer is the operator of the construction. This company is fully owned by the Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom (over 99%)
The Akkuyu power plant will comprise four power units with a capacity of 1200 MW each. When ready, the station will generate about 35 bln kWh per year. The construction of Unit One began in April 2018, of Unit Two – in June 2020.
