By Huseyin Erdogan
ANKARA
Russia will transfer used nuclear fuel from Turkey's first nuclear plant, Akkuyu, to Russia to be re-processed, said chief executive of Russia's state-owned nuclear company, Rosatom on Tuesday.
The Akkuyu nuclear power plant is Turkey's first nuclear power plant project, a joint venture agreed between Turkey and Russia in 2010. Rosatom will finance, build and run the $22 billion plant which will have a life cycle of 60 years.
"Further to operating the plant, we are also responsible for supplying nuclear fuel and taking the used nuclear waste out of the country," Sergey Kiriyenko, chief executive of Rosatom said.
Kiriyenko said Turkish officials give high importance to the security of the plant, adding, "The chosen area for the plant is extremely safe."
He said that new technology which was developed following Fukushima accident in Japan in 2011 is being used in Akkuyu to avoid similar incidents.
The construction of Turkey's first Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant will begin in 2016 and the first reactor is estimated to be operational in 2019. The other planned three reactors are due to become fully operational in 2023.
Kiriyenko also underlined the importance of having skilled personnel employed in the plant. He said that Turkish students, who are currently studying in Russia with Russian nuclear energy specialists, will work together in the plant once it becomes operational.
He said 10,000 people would be employed at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant that would contribute hugely to the Turkish economy.
