Rosatom Chief Executive Officer Sergey Kiriyenko told reporters in Russia that the first nuclear power plant to be built in the Republic of Turkey would be operational for up to 100 years.
Kiriyenko said the plant planned for Turkey's southern coast would have a guaranteed of 60 years, but that he was sure the four-reactor power plant would have “a lifespan of 80-100 years.”
He also said the project would be funded through investors mostly, rather than bank loans.
Construction, which is slated for a 2016 start, is expected to cost $22 billion. The plant is expected to be up and running by 2023, just in time for the republic's 100 anniversary.
Once it is running, the plant could be a symbol of the country's progress toward economic independence. Turkey's energy import bill came to $56 billion in 2013. In the past five years, the country has spent $239 billion on imported energy.
The World Bulletin said the four-reactor plant was expected to generate 35 billion kilowatt-hours per year.
In addition to the plant itself, Turkey is sending 250 engineers to Russia for seven years of training so they can take over the plant's operations – another symbol of autonomy and independence.