Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev conducted a working visit to the Akkuyu NPP under construction in Türkiye. The plant 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. Work continues at the facilities of all four units and auxiliary structures as well as a new town for plant operators. Unit 1 is scheduled for launch later this year.
Likhachev inspected the progress of work at unit 1. His delegation included the Chairman of the Board of Directors of project company Akkuyu Nukleer Anton Dedusenko, company Director General Sergei Butskikh and the First Deputy Director General and Technical Director, Andrey Zhukov.
“We are moving towards the main task of this year – ensuring the transition to start-up and then operation at the first unit,” said Likhachev. “Preparations for the key event – cold-hot run-in tests with loaded fuel assembly simulators are being completed.” He added that Turkish companies are interested in taking shares in the project. “Now there is great interest on the part of Turkish companies in entering the project. This is due to the possibility of participating in electricity generation and making a profit. I have begun a substantive discussion with a number of Turkish companies about the parameters of their participation in the authorised capital. This is serious, a lot of work. Partners in Turkey are extremely important to us not only at the construction and commissioning stage, but also throughout the entire life of power units, which can extend to 100 years.”
Having visited the main facilities of the first launch complex, Likhachev held a working meeting with the heads of Akkuyu Nukleer and the main contractors of the project. “Of course, the main value of any project is the people, our employees, citizens of Russia and Turkey,” he said. “Now preparations are underway to settle the operators’ town for 8,000 people. It contains the best practices in organising housing, communal and social infrastructure: kindergartens, schools, public spaces.”
He then visited the town, which is located 50 km from the NPP construction site, where, as part of the first stage, 48 residential buildings, a school, a kindergarten, all the necessary social infrastructure facilities and public service systems are being prepared for delivery.
Construction of a residential town for the operating personnel began in February 2023. The project, which covers an area of about 80 hectares, is being implemented in three stages. The first stage includes the delivery of 816 apartments, a school for 1,000 places with a sports centre and an indoor swimming pool, and a kindergarten for 450 places. As part of the second stage, 732 apartments are being built, and for the third stage of 1,100 apartments, a land use permit has been received. A medical centre, pharmacy, commercial premises, public and recreational spaces, including a park area, will be located on the territory. The town is provided with an autonomous engineering infrastructure – electricity supply with full power reserve, its own water supply sources and treatment facilities, and boiler houses in each residential building. The construction and engineering solutions used are aimed at increasing the seismic resistance and energy efficiency of buildings.
