Russia is investing a total of $20 billion in a nuclear reactor in Turkey, with part of the project already underway. From Bloomberg.com, July 29th:
Rosatom Corp. last week sent around $5 billion to the Turkey-based builder, formally known as Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, with two other similar dollar transfers planned for this week and next, according to senior Turkish officials with direct knowledge of the matter.
According to Bloomberg, financing for the project is provided by two Russian banks, Sberbank and Sovcombank. Both financial institutions are under sanctions from Europe and America.
Greekreporter.com explains that the first unit of the project is scheduled to go online in the middle of next year:
The remaining three reactors are due to start operation by the end of 2026 at a rate of one per year to ultimately have a total installed capacity of 4,800 megawatts (MW).
Once fully operational, the plant is expected to deliver 10% of Turkey’s domestic electric needs.
The nuclear power plant project has moved forward despite concerns back in May that it would be delayed as a result of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia. On May 17th, the Middle East Monitor reported that production of equipment for the project “in countries such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and South Korea” would be delayed due to the sanctions.
On July 31st, the Middle East Monitor confirmed that the Turkish nuclear-plant project was moving forward, and also reported:
The Russian transfer of the funds and the Akkuyu plant comes just over a week after Egypt announced the first phase of its own El-Dabaa nuclear power plant, which is also assisted by Russia and its company Rosatom.
