President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin may travel to Türkiye on April 27 to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant.

Speaking in an interview on ATV-a Haber late Wednesday, Erdoğan said Türkiye is determined to proceed with the nuclear power plant project, despite objection from the opposition.

He noted that Putin may either travel to Mersin in person or attend via teleconference.

Kicked off as part of Russia-Türkiye collaboration, the Akkuyu NPP, Türkiye’s first nuclear plant, once completed, is expected to produce 35 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually and will meet about 10% of domestic electricity needs.

It is the world’s first nuclear power plant project implemented through a build-own-operate model. Under the long-term contract, Rosatom has agreed to provide the power plant’s design, construction, maintenance, operation and decommissioning.

The plant, which will have an estimated service life of 60 years with an extension of another 20 years, will produce carbon-free energy around the clock.