The head of Russian nuclear power giant Rosatom Alexei Likhachev said Tuesday that construction work had begun at Akkuyu in Turkey, a southern city on the Mediterranean Sea that will house the country's first nuclear power plant.
Likhavchev announced start of the first construction activity despite the lack of a permit. “Provided that we are working directly with the regulator in Turkey; we hope to get the license this year, but the construction works are already underway, so we are optimistic about the future,” Likhavchev said at the International Atomic Energy Agency's conference in Vienna.
The plant envisioned will include four 1,200 MW Russian VVER reactors. The original cooperation agreement that set the stage for the project was signed in May 2010 by Russia and Turkey. That agreement was ratified in July 2010 by the Turkish Parliament.
Site survey work began in 2011, while site preparation work began in 2013.
The construction time line calls for the first unit to be connected to the grid in 2023.