ISTANBUL – The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NGS) is both the first such and biggest investment project in Turkey. According to officials, the tax income from the project is expected to bring approximately $222 billion. It will also pump an additional $1.6 billion dollars to the national economy, including via social security and retirement premiums.

Alexander Superfin, the general manager of NGS, said the company has four or five serious prospective partnerships for the plant. "We are making preliminary negotiations so as to evaluate the offers and pick the best," he said. "I suppose big steps will be taken with the first half of 2014. The offers we are waiting for will be received and perhaps the agreement stage will be reached then."

The company expects to purchase nearly $3.5 million in equipment, $ 1.8 million of which will be purchased in 2014. The Minister of Energy said the installed energy of Turkey will be 110,000 to 130,000 megawatts in 2023 and electricity consumption will be 500 billion kilowatts. Nearly all of the natural gas and liquid fluids used in electricity and nearly 30 percent of coal is imported, highlighting why it is important to embrace energy diversification and nuclear energy investments.

The creation of a nuclear power plant is not a preference but a requirement. NGS is expected to produce approximately 40 billion kilowatts of electricity annually.

Fuel cost for the station is explained to be nearly $720 million a year and eight billion meters cubed of natural gas is needed to produce 40 billion kilowatts of electricity. However, the cost of natural gas is approximately $3.6 billion.

With the cost of only natural gas imports in five years, it is possible to build four units of nuclear power stations in Mersin-Akkuyu.

Turkey will form its own model in establishing the nuclear power plant. The most important aspect of the model is domestic production and local human resources are given priority. The personnel to be employed will be trained in a program designed in collaboration with Russia. Nearly 600 Turkish students will be trained by 2023. Forty-eight students have already been selected and registered in 2011 to attend the Moscow Institute of Physics and Engineering, with 64 students in 2012 and 78 students in 2013. In total, 190 Turkish students have thus far joined the program.

As part of the training program, Turkish students visited the Kalininskaya plant, which has features similar to Akkuyu, offering hands-on training. Some of the students who received training in the control room simulator at the training center addressed the scenario of saving the world from nuclear seepage.

A seepage alarm was activated because of a malfunction in the reactor and all personnel got to their places. The students in control deactivated the system on time and prevented a possible disaster.

Turkish students thus saw the working environment at the Akkuyu nuclear plant where they will start working. Ahmet Aslan, a student in the project, said participating in this project was encouraging and emotional. "We feel the responsibility of Turkish people," said Aslan. Sinem Gönülol from Adana said she is proud to be among the first nuclear experts in Turkey and added, "This is a great idea. We are all getting educated here. I think we will bring many more benefits to Turkey in the future."

Another student in the simulation room, Arif Canpolat, said he wants to take part in the first nuclear plant project in Turkey. "When I first entered the simulation room, I imagined myself at the nuclear plant in Mersin. Upon seeing this place, I aspire to work in such an environment in Mersin," said Canpolat. Cem Yıldız from Gaziantep noted that the training is difficult but the result will be beneficial.
Yıldız said, "I feel the responsibility of 70 million people on my shoulders. It is a major project that necessitates responsibility." Mikail Yüksekler said the project was exciting: "We want to bring back home all that we learn here and enhance it. We also want similar plants in our country and we hope the area will be improved in Turkey," said Yüksekler. A hundred additional students will be brought to Russia for training on nuclear energy expertise with full scholarship and employment guarantee.

According to projections, 600 students from Turkey will receive nuclear engineering training in Moscow by 2023.