About $11 billion has already flowed into Türkiye’s economy through tax payments and local procurement under the country's first nuclear power plant project, the main contractor said on Wednesday.
The $20 billion, 4.8-gigawatt, four-reactor Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is being built by the Russian conglomerate Rosatom in the southern province of Mersin.
The facility will bring Türkiye into the small club of nations with civil nuclear energy. Once fully operational, it is expected to generate around 10% of Türkiye's electricity.
"To date, the localization volume in favor of the Republic of Türkiye, including tax payments, has reached $11 billion," Akkuyu Nuclear JSC General Manager Sergei Butckikh told reporters.
Nearly 2,000 Turkish companies have taken part in the project at various stages as suppliers and subcontractors, Butckikh said.
“Turkish companies have quickly adapted to the requirements of the nuclear sector, improved their production processes and raised their standards,” he noted.
He said the plant site is one of the region’s largest employers. “At the peak of construction, tens of thousands of people worked on site,” he said, adding that once all four power units are operational, around 4,000 people will be employed permanently.
Work continues simultaneously on the four reactor units and related facilities, according to Butckikh.
Officials have said the first reactor is set to go online next year.
Butckikh said commissioning tests are underway for the first power unit, where the main reactor equipment has already been installed.
“General construction and assembly works have been completed, and we are now carrying out commissioning operations and system checks,” he noted.
Once operational, the first reactor will generate more than 8.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, enough to meet the energy needs of 3 million-4 million people, roughly equivalent to the combined demand of Mersin and part of the southern province of Adana.
At the third power unit, Butckikh said the reactor pressure vessel has been installed in its designated position, while the foundation and assembly of the turbine unit have been completed.
For the fourth unit, the core catcher has been installed and the turbine hall foundation has been concreted, he added.
Türkiye aims to reach 7.2 GW of nuclear capacity by 2035 and 20 GW by 2050. It plans to build the second and third plants in the northern Sinop and Thrace regions.
