TURKIYE PUTS FIRST NUCLEAR REACTOR INTO OPERATION SOON

ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 6 /SRNA/ — The first reactor at Turkiye's first nuclear plant is under intensive testing and will soon be put into operation, stated Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.

Bayraktar presented Turkiye's future energy policy, which was prepared in cooperation with the International Energy Agency, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkiye's first nuclear power plant is being built near the village of Akkuyu in the Mediterranean province of Mersin. Ankara and Moscow signed an agreement on the project in May 2010, but the project was subsequently delayed.

Russian state-owned company Rosatom is leading the $20 billion project. The first of the four reactors was originally scheduled to begin operating in 2025.

Once completed, the plant is expected to meet around 10 per cent of Turkiye's electricity needs, roughly equivalent to the consumption of the greater Istanbul area.

Last week, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed expanding joint nuclear energy projects with Russian President Vladimir Putin.