Representatives of AKKUYU NPP JSC Project Company participated
in Turkey-MENA International Nuclear Energy Congress 2014

22.04.2014 18:04 | Press Service of Akkuyu NPP

International Nuclear Energy Congress Turkey-MENA Nuclear Industry Congress 2014 took place in Istanbul. Over 150 nuclear energy specialists from UK, Jordan, Iran, UAE, USA, Russia, France, Turkey and other countries got involved in the event. The main goal of the forum was to share experience for mutual development of the nuclear energy in the MENA. Speeches of Mr. Ilker Sert, Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR) of the Republic of Turkey, and Mr. Necati Yama, Director of Turkish Atomic Energy Project Department, were on the event's agenda. Dmitriy Pokidyshev, Chief Licensing and Technical Coordinator of the AKKUYU NPP JSC Project Company, made a detailed presentation about the status of the first Turkish nuclear power plant construction process.

The discussions at the International congress touched upon tasks of future NPP owners and operators, NPP competitive capacities on the Turkish energy market, regulation standards when NPP licensing in the Republic of Turkey, establishment of the nuclear energy infrastructure, development of the nuclear energy in the MENA. The panel discussions addressed problems pertaining to implementation of nuclear energy construction projects, ways to overcome them as well as the safety and technical achievements in the nuclear industry.

Ilker Sert, Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, made a welcome speech: The Congress is one of the leading nuclear energy international summits on the territory of Turkey and Middle East. The Republic of Turkey is dynamically developing the nuclear energy. As of today the country has two NPP construction projects-Akkuyu NPP and Synop NPP. The site for the third one has not been selected yet, but it is a matter of the near future. I am confident that the International Congress will be an opportunity for high level discussions of various nuclear generation prospects.

Necati Yama, Director of Turkish Atomic Energy Project Department of the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MENR) of the Republic of Turkey, made a presentation on the first day of the congress when addressing the topic National strategy of the nuclear energy development. He said that external reliance of Turkey in the energy area was 72%, and the country had annually spent tens of billions of dollars to purchase energy resources. Given the growing power demand the NPP is a compelling need for our nation the MENR representative stated. After commissioning of Akkuyu NPP and Synop NPP the Turkish natural gas needs will decrease and it will allow saving 7.2 billion of dollars per year, which may be channeled to the social sphere.

The Congress addressed the following subjects: development of the nuclear energy in Jordan, United Arab Emirates; NPP licensing in US; readiness of country's infrastructure to nuclear power generation. Professor Roger Cashmore drew attention of the participants to the nuclear energy development in EU and UK. Tasks of future NPP owners and operators, nuclear energy in the Middle East, NPP competitive capabilities on the energy market, establishment of the nuclear energy infrastructure and other topics were discussed within the framework of the business program.

Dmitriy Pokidyshev, Chief Licensing and Technical Coordinator of Akkuyu NPP, spoke about the status of the first Turkish NPP construction project. He said: The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey is directly interacting with Russian specialists. AKKUYU NPP JSC is collaborating with the Turkish public authorities under the nuclear power plant building project. The first NPP in Mersin Province will be commissioned in accordance with the projected time. He noted that currently the Republic of Turkey had no finalized legal infrastructure of the nuclear industry. The Turkish public authorities jointly with the Project Company's employees are actively collaborating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in this sphere. The congress participants became aware that under the Akkuyu NPP construction project the company would hold the majority ownership (51%) and foreign investors can count on 49%. Dmitriy Pokidyshev said that such a large-scale project would create up to 12 thousand job opportunities in peak periods in Mersin Project. And it will positively influence not only development of the region but the entire country.

The AKKUYU NPP JSC's representative also stressed the importance of the outreach activities and awareness-raising work with the Turkish citizens as well as openness of the Project Company to the public. He said that two Public Information Centers of Akkuyu NPP were successfully operating in Mersin Province and were always open for visitors. Dmitriy Pokidyshev highlighted the fact that nuclear energy should be taken as a long-term initiative resulting in use of internal energy sources of Turkey pro rata in shrinkage of energy resource importation.

After his presentation the Chief Licensing and Technical Coordinator of Akkuyu NPP responded to all questions of interest. He was asked about a possibility to partake in equipment delivery for the first Turkish NPP. Dmitriy Pokidyshev said: «Any company meeting the customer's requirements having appropriate licenses for equipment/services is able to submit the bid. Today in free-market conditions it is impossible to select a vendor favoring a specific company. Any company suggesting quality products on favorable terms and at acceptable prices can be a winner of the tender.

Reports on new nuclear safety developments after the Fukushima-1 accident have been voices at the congress. The safety policy and its regulation principles as well as international cooperation and common construction management of large-scale projects were addressed.