The Russian Federation and Türkiye have completed testing a new mechanism for financing the construction of the Akkuyu NPP, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Tianjin, China.
“We have successfully completed the testing phase for the clearing mechanism, which will meet Akkuyu’s financial needs through Botas gas payments,” Erdogan said.
At the end of July, Rosatom reported that it was looking for solutions to issues to ensure uninterrupted financing of the project, which arose, among other things, as a result of the blocking of a significant amount of funds due to the influence of third parties. In addition, Ilya Rebrov, Rosatom Deputy General Director for economics and finance said, that the company is exploring the possibility of issuing Islamic bonds (sukuk) to finance the project.
Akkuyu NPP will eventually host four Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors. The pouring of first concrete for unit 1 took place in April 2018, for unit 2 in June 2020, for unit 3 in March 2021, and for unit 4 in July 2022. Rosatom is constructing the reactors according to a build-own-operate model. Unit 1 is expected to begin operation in 2025-26.
