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Türkiye’s Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Alparslan Bayraktar announced Monday that construction of the first reactor unit at the country’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is now 99% complete.
Minister Bayraktar conducted an on-site inspection of the facility, where he visited the control room of the nearly finished first unit and received updates from technical staff. He also met with Turkish engineers who had recently returned from specialized training in Russia and are now working at the plant.
During the visit, Bayraktar held a meeting with Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev to discuss the current status of the project and its long-term goals. The inspection was also attended by Türkiye’s Health Minister, Kemal Memisoglu.
In his post on X, Bayraktar noted that the project represents the realization of Türkiye’s 7-decade-long nuclear ambition, emphasizing that nuclear energy is not merely a means of power generation but a critical component of Türkiye’s broader energy strategy.
"It is the key to technological advancement, economic development, and the century of energy," Bayraktar said.
In addition to the Akkuyu facility, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar noted that the government plans to build new nuclear power plants in Sinop, located on the Black Sea coast, and in the Thrace region of northwestern Türkiye. The country’s long-term energy strategy also includes the integration of small modular reactors (SMRs) into its power generation mix.
Türkiye aims to increase its total installed nuclear capacity to 20,000 megawatts by 2050 as part of broader efforts to decarbonize the economy and diversify energy sources.
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which is being constructed in cooperation with Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom, is located in the southern province of Mersin.
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