Turkey's Akkuyu NPP Project To Be Implemented On Time - Russian Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2023) Moscow has no doubt that the project of Turkey's Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP) will be implemented on time and in accordance with all required quality standards, Yuri Pilipson, Director of the Fourth European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Sputnik.

"Russia's relevant institutions have a wealth of experience on fulfilling tasks of various difficulty, they have enough competence combined with the talent, skills and qualifications of nuclear scientists and workers so as to give an appropriate response to attempts to infringe on our interests. There is no doubt that the project of the Akkuyu NPP will be implemented in accordance with all required standards of quality, physical safety and on time," the diplomat said.

The construction of the Akkuyu NPP started in 2018 by the Russian state nuclear corporation, Rosatom. The NPP will be equipped with advanced Russian VVER-1200 reactors, and is expected to generate about 35 billion kilowatt-hours per year and cover up to 10% of Turkey's electricity needs. The project's cost is estimated at about $20 billion.

In late April, the ceremony of loading nuclear fuel into the first reactor at Akkuyu NPP in the Turkish town of Buyukeceli took place. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that all blocs of the plant would be put into operation by 2028.