The commissioning of Turkey's first nuclear power plant, the 4,800 MW Akkuyu project, has been delayed from 2019 to 2022 at the earliest, due to regulatory hurdles and uncertainties over Russia's financial commitment. The approval process has been delayed by concerns about nuclear power after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and Rosatom had to wait for nearly a year to receive environmental approval from Turkish authorities (granted in December 2014). In addition, Rosatom has committed to finance the US$20bn project but the company may face economic difficulties in Russia, which is hit by western sanctions over Ukraine and falling oil prices.
The Akkuyu project is developed by RosEnergoAtom (93%), Inter RAO UES (3.5%), Atomstroyexport (3.5%). It will consist of four AES-2006 pressurized water reactors of 1,200 MW each supplied by Rosatom. Commissioning was expected in 2019 or 2020 but construction has not started yet (expected in 2015 or 2016) and should last at least seven years, which will postpone the start of operations to 2022 or 2023.
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