Turkish consortium pulls out of Akkuyu nuclear project

By Ebru Sengul

ANKARA (AA) - Three Turkish companies who partnered with Russia's Rosatom for the construction of Turkey's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), pulled out of the project, company officials told Anadolu Agency on Tuesday.

Rosatom holds the majority share of the plant with 51 percent, while the remaining 49 percent stake was to be divided among the Turkish consortium of contracting conglomerates that includes Cengiz, Kolin and Kalyon.

However, the Cengiz, Kolin and Kalyon consortium pulled out of the project, the company officials said citing the inability to agree on commercial terms in the project.

The Turkish consortium signed a draft agreement with Rosatom for the transfer of 49 percent of shares in the project last June. However, since then the sides failed to reach a final agreement.

- The Akkuyu NPP project

Rosatom plans to construct Turkey's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, in the country's southern province of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast.

The plant will have a capacity of 4,800 megawatts in four units and a working life of 8,000 hours per year.

In the first phase of construction, two units with a capacity of 2,400 megawatts are planned.

Construction of the plant was expected to start this year. The plant has an operational date set for the first reactor by 2023 while the plant is expected to be up and running at full capacity by 2025.