Construction work on the first power unit of Türkiye’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) has been completed, according to Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev.

Speaking during a visit to the facility, Likhachev announced that the project had reached a major milestone with the completion of construction activities at the plant’s first unit, The Caspian Post reports, citing TASS.

“We are recording the completion of construction work. Cold hydrostatic testing of the reactor began last night, and this work will be completed within a few weeks. Only a matter of weeks will remain before the launch operations begin, and following the completion of all this work, an inspection will be carried out and adjustments will be made to the final stage,” he said.

The Rosatom chief noted that cold hydrostatic testing, one of the key stages before commissioning, is already underway and is expected to conclude within several weeks. Following the testing process, preparations for start-up operations will begin, after which final inspections and adjustments will be carried out before the unit enters its final commissioning phase.

Akkuyu is the first nuclear power plant being built in the Republic of Turkey. The Akkuyu project consists of four power units equipped with Russian-designed Generation III+ VVER reactors. Each unit will have a capacity of 1,200 MW. The construction of Akkuyu is the first project in the global nuclear industry to be implemented under the Build-Own-Operate model.