The Nuclear Regulatory Board approved the construction license for the 4th power unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in the name of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC. The issuance of the license allows carrying out all construction and assembly works in the unit, including the important facilities for nuclear safety.
The application documents required for obtaining the construction license were presented to the Nuclear Regulatory Board on May 12, 2020. In the scope of its construction license application, AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC presented to the Nuclear Regulatory Board (NDK) the Preliminary Safety Analysis Report (PSAR), Probabilistic Safety Analysis, and a series of documents verifying the safety and reliability of the power unit.
As a result of the examination of the application documents, issuing a construction license to the Akkuyu NPP’s 4th power unit with the resolution of the NDK was approved. This license allows the start of the construction of all buildings and structures covered by nuclear safety, such as the reactors and turbine islands of the 4th unit.
In her statement, Anastasia Zoteeva, General Manager of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC, said, “Obtaining the construction license for the 4th power unit is a crucial step for our project. First of all, I would like to sincerely thank all my Turkish and Russian colleagues who made an effort to obtain this crucial document. Upon obtaining the license for the construction of the 4th power unit, we have completed the licensing process for the construction of our 4-unit nuclear power plant and verified the safety, integrity, validity, and uniqueness of our project as a result of the evaluations of our Turkish colleagues from the Nuclear Regulatory Authority. Now, we are ready to start the works at the entire 4th power unit. At the beginning of the next year, we will start constructing the foundation plates of the 4th unit nuclear island buildings.”
Before obtaining the construction license, preparatory works, such as ground surveys and excavation, were carried out according to the limited work permit dated June 30, 2021. It is planned to start the construction of sub-base concrete slabs and reinforce the foundations of the reactor and turbine buildings by the end of this year.
The licensing process for Turkey’s first nuclear power plant includes obtaining almost 120 different licenses, permits, and approvals from several state institutions of the Republic of Turkey. So far, crucial licenses and permits, such as EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) positive certificate, electricity generation license, limited work permits and construction licenses for four power units, and Eastern Cargo Terminal operation permit, have been issued in the scope of the project. In the coming process, the Nuclear Regulatory Authority will evaluate the license applications for each of all four power units under construction in such issues as commissioning, fuel loading, and licensing operation staff.
The Akkuyu NPP site has become one of the world’s largest construction sites in the nuclear energy sector. In the Akkuyu NPP site, where over 13 thousand people work, there are more than 1000 construction equipment and vehicles, including the tower crane. All these works carried out in the site are realized under the close surveillance and coordination of all public institutions and organizations of the Republic of Turkey as well as independent building audit institutions.