Erdogan and Putin mark the start of work on Turkey’s first nuclear power plant
Ankara — The leaders of Turkey and Russia marked the official start of work to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant on Tuesday, launching construction of the $20bn Akkuyu power station in the southern province of Mersin. The plant will be built by Russian State Nuclear Energy Agency, Rosatom, and will be made up of four units each with a capacity of 1,200MW. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan marked the official start to construction of Akkuyu’s first unit, watching by videolink from the Turkish capital Ankara. "When all four units go online, the plant will meet 10% of Turkey’s energy needs," Erdogan said, adding that despite delays Turkey still planned to start generating power at the first unit in 2023. The 4,800MW plant, is part of Erdogan’s "2023 vision" marking 100 years since the founding of modern Turkey and is intended to reduce Turkey’s dependence on energy imports. However, since Russia was awarded the contract in 2010, the proj...
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