Turkey Akkuyu nuke plant gets limited permit for unit 2

By Firdevs Yuksel

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish Atomic Energy Authority (TAEK) granted the country's first nuclear power plant Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant's (NPP) project company Akkuyu Nuclear, a "limited works permit" for the construction of the plant's second unit, Rosatom announced on Friday.

Receiving the "limited works permit" is an important stage in the licensing of Akkuyu NPP second unit's construction, according to a statement of Russia's State Nuclear Energy Corporation, Rosatom, the major consortium partner for the plant.

"When obtaining the 'limited works permit' and the 'main license' for the construction of unit 1, the team of the project company Akkuyu Nuclear has profoundly explored the requirements for documentation, and the rules for submission of documents. And our specialists could fully capture the practice and lessons learned for the efficient team work when preparing and submitting documents for the 'limited work permit' for unit 2, said Anastasia Zoteeva, chairwoman of Akkuyu Nuclear.

TAEK issued the "limited work permit" after a thorough review and assessment of the package of submitted documents by the Akkuyu Nuclear company.

This package of documents for unit 2 comprises a Preliminary Safety Analysis Report and a Probabilistic Safety Analysis of the plant, as well as a number of other documents confirming safety of the power unit.

As a significant milestone in the project implementation, the permit allows for the construction and installation works at the unit's facilities, namely excavation to lay the unit's foundation as well as engineering works.

Akkuyu Nuclear has to obtain a construction license to start concrete pouring of the foundation slab for the second unit, which will signify a formal start of construction activities for unit 2.

Akkuyu is set for construction by Russia in the Turkish southern province of Mersin.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin launched the construction of the project at a ceremony in the Turkish capital Ankara on April 3.

The plant, comprising four units, each with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, will meet about 10 percent of Turkey's electricity needs.