First unit of Turkey's first nuclear plant expected to be ready mid-2019

ANKARA (A.A) - December 16, 2011 - The first unit of Turkey's first nuclear power plant is expected to be ready by mid-2019, an executive of project company said on Friday. Alexander Superfin, the director general of Akkuyu NGS Elektrik Uretim Corp. (APC: Akkuyu Project Company), told a press conference in Ankara that the first unit of the nuclear power plant planned to be constructed in the southern Turkish town of Akkuyu was expected to be concluded by mid-2019. "The power plant construction will begin by mid-2014," Superfin said. In May 2010, the governments of Turkey and Russian Federation signed an agreement to cooperate for constructing and operating a nuclear power plant.   Superfin said the company was thinking of launching preparations for the construction by the second half of 2012, and the preparations would last for two years. The company would start constructing the power plant after it had received construction licence from the Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK), Superfin said.  Superfin also said the company was eager to employ around 25-30 percent of the power plant personnel from Turkish citizens, and this rate could be increased.  The agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on cooperation in relation to the construction and operation of a nuclear power plant in Akkuyu site envisaged establishing four units of 1,200 MWe Russian design VVER reactors. In December 2010, Russia established a company, APC: Akkuyu Project Company, to built, operate and decommission the NPP units. APC applied to the TAEK in February 2011 for being recognized as an owner, according to the Article 6 of the Decree on Licensing of Nuclear Installations, and TAEK recognized it as the owner. In March 2011, APC started site investigations in Akkuyu for updating the site characteristics and parameters according to the national procedures laid out in the Decree on Licensing of Nuclear Installations.