Mersin Province of the Republic of Turkey hosted the ceremony dedicated to laying the foundation of the off-shore hydraulic engineering structures (OHES) of Akkuyu NPP construction project.
The event was attended by the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Y?ld?z, the Chief Executive Officer of ROSATOM Sergey Kiriyenko, the Russian Ambassador in the Republic of Turkey Andrey Karlov, the Governor of Mersin Province ?zdemir ?akacak, the Chief Executive Officer of Rusatom Overseas JSC Dzhomart Aliev, the Chief Executive Officer of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC Fuad Akhundov, as well as representatives of various government agencies and businesses in Turkey.
“Today will go down in the history of development of the nuclear industry in the Republic of Turkey. The Turkish company won the tender for design and construction of the off-shore hydraulic engineering structures for Akkuyu NPP. This suggests that our companies meet the requirements to bidders tendering for the right to perform construction and installation works for construction of nuclear power plants” Taner Y?ld?z said at the ceremony. The Turkish Energy Minister expressed confidence that in the near future Turkish firms will be able to tender for construction of NPPs in different countries. “It is impossible to imagine a developed country without nuclear power. Going forward Turkey must have a diversified energy system. Nuclear power plants shall become an integral part of the Republic of Turkey. We will surely build new NPPs and power plants operating based on renewable energy sources. Preference for ones does not mean rejection of the others” he added. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Y?ld?z focused on the fact that if Akkuyu NPP had worked today, it could meet the electric power needs of Istanbul with a population of 15 million people”.
The head of the Turkish Ministry of Energy said that Turkey's first nuclear power plant operation will not result in outflow of tourists from the region. “The most visited cities in the world are: Paris, London, Madrid. The French capital attracts most tourists per year. However, an area with a diameter of only 55 km with center in Paris hosts 7 nuclear plants. Thus, we can say with certainty that NPPs do not affect the flow of tourists” he said. Taner Y?ld?z told participants and guests of the event, that when Akkuyu NPP is built and starts operation, it will be the most modern plant in terms of safety systems”.
“The first Turkish nuclear power plant is a strategic project between Turkey and Russia. The NPP will be an important component for a stable and secure energy supply of the Republic of Turkey. Construction of Akkuyu NPP will allow creating thousands of new jobs. At the peak period of construction of the plant up to 10 thousand workers will work at the construction site. We will do everything for Turkish companies to be proprietary contractors” the CEO of ROSATOM Sergey Kiriyenko said. Sergey Kiriyenko also said that the plant will employ locals and this will have a positive impact on the level of income of citizens. “This is the first time when ROSATOM announced a tender for the hydraulic engineering structures of Akkuyu NPP targeting Turkish companies only - we have never done it before in other countries; all willing companies were invited to tender. We deliberately invited to the tender for OHES only Turkish companies for them to gain such experience. The aim is to form a pool of partners with whom ROSATOM would continue to work on construction of nuclear facilities in Russia and third countries” he said. Sergey Kirienko also noted that the OHES will be designed and constructed by the Turkish company Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret, which has met all stated requirements and offered the cheapest price - 394 million US dollars, which is almost three times less than the initial maximum contract price.
Sergey Kiriyenko also said that state-of-the-art technologies are used for Akkuyu NPP project: “There is no more advanced NPP construction technology. After the Fukushima accident special protection measures were developed. If in 2011 Japan had such plant as Akkuyu NPP, then nothing would have happened to it, and it would have continued to work with 100 percent reliability. We do not build in Mersin Province a test project. The technology, which is planned to be used here, was used previously and was approved in Russia and other countries. I want to note that besides the Russian Ministry of Energy and other Russian state and public organizations ROSATOM is verified by international organizations as well. We work openly and do not hide anything”.
The head of ROSATOM said that Akkuyu NPP will work for more than 80 years, and its operation requires appropriate human resources. “In 2015 more 80 students from Turkey will begin to study in the best universities of Russia to get a specialty in the field of nuclear power as part of the training program for Turkey's first nuclear power plant. This year 6,100 people - more than 70 people per place have applied for studies. The interest of Turkish young people in nuclear power and nuclear engineering increases. The Government of the Russian Federation supports ROSATOM. This gives us the opportunity to be leader in creation of the nuclear industry in other countries. This year Russia will celebrates the 70th anniversary of nuclear technology creation. We have a huge experience, which we share abroad,” he said.
The Turkey's Energy Minister and the head of ROSATOM laid a capsule in the “foundation stone” of the off-shore hydraulic engineering structures of the Akkuyu NPP project with a message to future generations. “Akkuyu NPP will provide Turkey with clean, safe, stable and reliable generation of electric power. This NPP will expand our cooperation not only in the energy sector, but also in the field of science and technology. Laying the foundation of the structures is a historic event in strengthening the strategic cooperation between the two countries” the message says.
“We have been waiting for this day for a long time. Hundreds of companies and institutions were involved to get closer to the objectives set by the Government of the Republic of Turkey. In this very place experts from various companies (not only from Russia and Turkey) worked several years. They studied all the natural characteristics to provide an unmistakable opinion about the possibility to construct a large power facility here. This work gives the result - in December 2014 the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization of the Republic of Turkey approved the Environmental Impact Assessment Report of the Akkuyu NPP project. The document of about 5,500 pages contains all answers to questions related to the first Turkish nuclear power plant. After some time the largest engineering structures and buildings will be built on this site. Thousands of professionals will work here. Today we have every reason to say that after a few years the Turkey's first nuclear power plant will be launched and generation of electric power, which is waited by settlements and industrial enterprises of the Republic of Turkey, will begin on this site,” the CEO of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC Fuad Akhundov said.
Background:
Akkuyu NPP will be built under the modern Russian design 3rd generation NPP-2006, which takes into account all post-Fukushima safety requirements. The technical and organizational measures applied in the project will ensure the performance of safety systems in all possible scenarios. The project provides for stopping the reactor and its maintenance in a safe mode for a long period of time under any exposure conditions or combination thereof - earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, dust storms, air shock waves and even falling objects weighing up to 400 tons. The project is being first implemented on the BOO model (build-own-operate). At the stage of construction of the first NPP the Republic of Turkey will get a substantial impetus for economy’s development - potential orders for construction works and supply of equipment will be studied. Turkish contractors will perform up to 90% of construction works and about 50% of installation works in the Akkuyu NPP project, besides up to 40% of the plant equipment will be produced by Turkish suppliers.