Türkiye plans to complete negotiations on the construction of a second NPP before the end of the year. Negotiations on the project for a second NPP, to be sited in Sinop in the north of the country, are scheduled to be completed before the end of the year, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said. He told TRT television that Türkiye has received proposals to supply the plant from different countries and is evaluating them and that there is healthy competition.
Meanwhile, Donmez said earlier that the first nuclear fuel will be delivered to the Akkuyu NPP on 27 April. Akkuyu will eventually host four units of Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors. The pouring of first concrete for unit 1 took place in April 2018, for unit 2 in June 2020, for unit 3 in March 2021, and for unit 4 in July 2022. Completion of unit 1 is expected in the third quarter this year. Rosatom is constructing the reactors according to a build-own-operate model. To date, the project is fully funded by the Russian side. However, Rosatom has the right to sell a share of up to 49% in the project to other investors.
Donmez told TRT: "According to my assessment, the first negotiations on the nuclear power plant project in Sinop will be completed during this year." He recalled that in the case of the Akkuyu NPP, about five years elapsed between the approval of the agreement with Rosatom by the Turkish Parliament and the laying of the foundation of the station. "This time, most likely, the process will go faster…. I believe that within two to three years (after the agreement is approved by the parliament), the foundation of the station will be laid."
Donmez added that the authorities are also looking for suitable sites throughout the country for the construction of at least two more NPPs, in addition to Sinop and Akkuyu. In November 2022, Deputy Energy & Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar confirmed plans for the Sinop plant and said negotiations were already underway. “We need at least 16 to 20 reactors, according to our initial estimates, or we need 12 to 16 reactors in addition to the Akkuyu NPP to be a carbon-neutral economy by the turn of the century.” He disclosed that Turkey was in talks with South Korean and US companies for nuclear energy development, while discussions were also ongoing with the Chinese government for a third power plant.
