Russia’s Rosatom receives offer from Erdogan to build second nuclear power plant in Türkiye

Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom has received an offer from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to build a second nuclear power plant in Türkiye.

This development was revealed by Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev during an interview with Russian media, News.Az reports.

Likhachev stated that the proposal came directly from President Erdogan after discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He mentioned that consultations are ongoing at the governmental level regarding the potential expansion of operations at the Sinop site, located along the Black Sea.

He emphasized that Turkish businesses have shown a strong interest in nuclear technologies, demonstrating an understanding of the industry's requirements and challenges. "We are receiving significant support from Turkish businesses to continue our construction efforts," Likhachev noted. "Our goal is to create a maximally unified approach, leveraging our experience from the Akkuyu project to standardize processes at the Sinop site."

In July, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar stated that Rosatom is better positioned than foreign competitors to assist with the construction of the nuclear power plant in Sinop, citing Rosatom's experience with the Akkuyu NPP as a significant advantage.

The Akkuyu NPP is the first nuclear power plant to be built in Türkiye. The project is being implemented in accordance with the inter-governmental agreement signed by Russia and Türkiye in 2010. The power plant will include four Russian-designed VVER generation 3+ reactors. Each reactor’s power output will be 1,200 MWt. Once commissioned and brought to full capacity, the NPP will produce about 35 billion kWh every year. The plant is designed to provide up to 10% of Türkiye's electricity needs.

News.Az