Russia set to finish Akkuyu nuke licensing by year end

ANKARA

Russia hopes to finalize all necessary licenses and permits for Turkey's first nuclear plant Akkuyu by the end of the year, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told Anadolu Agency over the weekend.

Contracting parties are working to obtain the last of the licenses for Akkuyu, Novak said.

Russia's Rosatom and Turkish consortium Cengiz-Kolin-Kalyon signed an agreement in June for the construction of the plant.

"We will start construction at the beginning of 2018 and once the first unit is completed, we plan to start operations at the plant in 2023," he said.

When fully operational, the plant is estimated to meet around 6-7 percent of Turkey's electricity demand.

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

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

The plant's 49 percent stake will be divided among the Turkish consortium of three while the remaining 51 percent of Akkuyu's shares will remain with Rosatom.

U.S. sanctions

Novak also addressed the latest U.S. sanctions against Russia, which Trump signed into law on Aug. 2. In addition, new measures and six orders that were previously signed by President Barack Obama have been enforced.

"I think that the U.S. has put new sanctions against Russia to gain advantage of the European natural gas market," Novak said.

These sanctions are being implemented so that U.S. producers and U.S. natural gas can compete more easily in Europe against Russia, he commented.

Reporting by Ahmet Bayram;Writing by Zeynep Beyza Kilic