Türkiye Plans to Commission First Reactor of Akkuyu NPP This Year

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has confirmed that the authorities aim to commission the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) within this year.

"Our goal is to launch the first reactor of the Akkuyu NPP this year. We want to start producing electricity this year, even if it is in test mode. The start of electricity production at the first reactor is very important. I hope that this will be a historic moment for Türkiye," the minister said, The Caspian Post reports, citing TASS.

Bayraktar also noted that problems with equipment for the Akkuyu NPP due to the fault of the German company Siemens have caused delays in the project.

"The problem in Akkuyu is being solved with the help of Chinese equipment, but this cost us a delay of almost a year and a half. Therefore, we are now observing the consequences," the Turkish minister said.

Earlier Bayraktar said that the equipment for Akkuyu, ordered from Siemens before the introduction of sanctions against Russia, never arrived at the NPP site. He also called the German company an unreliable supplier due to the violation of contractual obligations.

Akkuyu NPP will be Türkiye's first nuclear power plant, built by Russia’s Rosatom state corporation. The Akkuyu NPP project includes four power units equipped with Generation 3+ VVER reactors of the Russian design. The capacity of each power unit is planned at 1,200 MW.