Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin during the delivery ceremony of the first nuclear fuel for the first unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in Turkey via video conference. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation / TASS
Ahead of schedule, Rosatom specialists, fulfilling the wishes of the Turkish side to speed up the construction of the first Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey in connection with the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey, achieved a truly colossal breakthrough: Nuclear fuel was delivered to the storage facility.
This is not a regular event. As of now, the construction site is officially transformed into a strategic nuclear facility. From that moment, the responsibility for the physical security of the plant passes from civil security companies to the power structures of Turkey, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) includes nuclear power plants in the list of nuclear facilities. .
The second and third nuclear power plants are just around the corner
Russian and Turkish presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke via video link at the fuel delivery ceremony.
– The Akkuyu nuclear power plant is one of the largest investment projects in Russia and the most important joint project of Moscow and Ankara, which allows the development of economic and neighborhood ties, the Russian leader said. – Turkey will now have its own nuclear power plant, which will meet its electricity needs. We are simultaneously building 4 reactors – this is the largest nuclear power plant in the world. Around 300 Turkish students studied nuclear energy with us, a new sector of the economy is being created in Turkey.
Erdogan urged everyone to rejoice at the new great step that Turkey is taking in the country’s development.
A screen showing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the ceremony. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev / Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation / TASS
– We, albeit with a delay of 60 years, but join the club of powers with nuclear energy. On behalf of myself and our people, I thank Russia and its specialists for this project. The nuclear power plant will not only provide 10% of the energy to our country and will create new jobs. Our students study in Russia and get a new profession for Türkiye. I hope that in the near future, taking into account the experience gained in Akkuyu, we will start the construction of the second and third nuclear power plants in Turkey.
Immediately afterwards, the head of Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, presented the Turkish Energy Minister, Fatih Dönmez, with a certificate on the transfer of nuclear fuel to the Turkish side, after which the flags of Russia, Turkey and the the IAEA. They were raised by the oldest and youngest participants in the ceremony, those who participated in the laying of the foundation stone of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
From remote provinces to bustling cities
Turkish legislation is very strict in terms of nature protection. The builders of “Akkuyu” did not have the right to simply demolish green spaces, forests; all this has to be replanted. Even the relief had to be changed: about 2 million tons of rocky soil from the mountains were moved and part of the sea was filled in for the construction of a nuclear power plant. Therefore, the territory of Turkey has become a little larger.
The scale of the construction is staggering: about 10 years ago there was a secluded bay, hidden behind the surrounding mountains. Today there is a whole city of the future with the outlines of cyclopean buildings in a mirror coating that shines in the sun. This is the first nuclear power plant in the world where four reactors are being built at the same time. An international team works here: Russians, Turks, Belarusians, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and representatives of many other countries. Around a hundred Turkish companies are involved in the construction project. The appearance of a nuclear power plant in these parts was a great advance not only in the country’s economy. Over the years, the province of Mersin has changed incredibly: from the inside, the surrounding nuclear power plants are turning into cities, the population is growing exponentially. The villages, where several hundred inhabitants lived, are now home to thousands of workers and employees of the future station.
Nuclear fuel storage of nuclear power plant under construction.
Photo: Alena PALAZHCHENKO
Mayor Gulnar Alprslan Unovar, in whose jurisdiction the nuclear power plant is located, talks about the rapid changes in his area:
– We have a total of 30 thousand people. And now there are only 30,000 NPP employees. We don’t have time to build houses, develop infrastructure. There were traffic jams that no one had ever seen here. But we are working, helping the local population to adapt to changing conditions.
He admits that it was not immediately and that not all residents accepted the news about the neighborhood with a nuclear power plant.
– There were protest rallies, people were afraid that the station would negatively affect health, the environment, destroy crops … But we explained what a nuclear power plant is, organized excursions for them. New jobs appear, people begin to earn good money, local businesses develop, new shops, restaurants, hairdressers open… People begin to understand that nuclear power plants are profitable and safe. We have excellent relations with the Russians, we understand each other and help each other, ”he says.
It will withstand any disaster.
The delivery of fuel is not the start-up of the reactor, as many people think, says the director of the nuclear power plant, Sergei Butskikh:
– According to the agreement, the term for construction of the nuclear power plant is 7 years from the issuance of the license. We received the license in 2018, so we are planning a power launch in 2025,” he says.
The recent devastating earthquake in the south-east of the country, which was also felt in the Mersin province, could not but raise the question of the safety of the station in case of natural and man-made disasters. Sergei Borisovich recalls that when choosing the future site, the most seismically safe region of Turkey was chosen, and even during the recent catastrophic earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 50 thousand people, the nuclear power plant was not damaged.
The scale of the construction is staggering.
Photo: Alena PALAZHCHENKO
– We have calculated an extreme earthquake of 9 points, which is impossible in principle, such has not yet been known in the history of mankind. We calculate the equipment for a plane crash, for explosive effects, even for a tsunami. For example, the maximum height of a tsunami in this region is 7 meters, and our protective structures are designed for 12. All the “Fukushima” tests we have carried out ensure the safe operation of the plant for decades. I can say that today it is the safest station in the world.
“The soul sings!”
We drive around the future station, stopping at the main facilities – a pumping station, laboratories and today’s pride – a new fuel mirror storage. The station employee Andrey, accompanying a group of journalists, splashes terms and names, inserting through the word “the only one in the world”, “unique”, “there is nothing like it anywhere else.” Hundreds of Turkish workers scamper through the pits bristling with rebar. Suddenly, in the depths of the bottomless pit, a joyful sound is heard: “Eh-haaaa!” The cry is picked up by sleepy, canned throats, and a roar of jubilation rushes over the station.
– It’s the guys who rejoice – we have such arbitrary outbursts of good mood several times a day -, a Turkish worker in a fiery yellow vest explains with a laugh. – You know, it works well, easily, we ourselves see what we are building, and the soul begins to sing!
There is a “guest point” at the station, from which you can see the entire construction site, as if from a bird’s eye view. There, young Turkish nuclear engineers, trained in Russia, are waiting for us. One of them is a specialist in chemical analysis of the second circuit – a fragile girl Pakize Ayshe Dzhigal.
Journalists near the model of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
Photo: Alena PALAZHCHENKO
“When our countries signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a nuclear power plant, I was still at school and immediately became interested in the peaceful atom,” he says. – I read a lot of interesting things and decided to go to study in this direction. After studying physics in Ankara, he applied to study in Russia, passed the exam, and took a nuclear energy course in St. Petersburg. I am happy that I had the opportunity to become one of the first nuclear specialists in my country and work in the first nuclear power plant in the history of Turkey.
lucky number 33
In the tent, deployed on the site of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, a model of the future power plant is on display in all its splendor. The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, having carefully studied the design, shared his opinion with journalists:
– Very original design, there are some artistic details. But at the same time they are functional,” he said.
For his part, Rosatom chief Likhachev told reporters that no difficulties had stopped the construction of the nuclear power plant:
– Neither the conflict in Ukraine nor the sanctions affected the pace of our work. Although Akkuyu suffered all possible misfortunes: the pandemic, the sanctions and the earthquake. But we are proceeding on schedule and expect to launch the first reactor on schedule: in 2025.
After today’s event, the nuclear power plant construction site is officially becoming a strategic nuclear facility.
Photo: Alena PALAZHCHENKO
Responding to a question about the possibility of building a second nuclear power plant in Turkey near the city of Sinop, he briefly replied: “We are negotiating with the Turkish government.”
Journalists were taken to local farms: tomatoes, strawberries, bananas… Work is in full swing everywhere, farmers are happy that the weather is good, there are many customers, one can even think about expanding production.
“We have been a family farm since 1976,” says local businessman Furkan. – Previously, we had a small plantation, but now we had to build greenhouses, expand the area. Since the beginning of the construction of the nuclear power plant, there are many orders, we can hardly cope. I think we have to expand further.
We hear the same opinion in other farms. At the strawberry farm, where most of the Syrians work, the owner named Ali even said that he was so pleased with the way things were going with him that he was ready to give the Russians strawberries from the station even for free, and he immediately handed us a packet of fragrant berries.
Interesting fact: Turkey will become the 33rd country to have a nuclear power plant. The number “33” also has the code for the Mersin province, where the Akkuyu nuclear power plant is being built. The Turks see this coincidence as a good sign.
