Turkey ‘Has Removed’ All Legal Obstacles To Akkuyu Construction

28 Jul (NucNet): Turkey has removed all legal obstacles to the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear station, Russia’s deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich said, according to the government-owned Russian Tass news agency. Tass said Mr Dvorkovich made the comment after a meeting between Turkey’s economy minister Nihat Zeybekchi and Russian energy minister Alexander Novak. Tass did not give further details, but in May Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom told NucNet that amendments were needed to three Turkish laws before Russia could go ahead with plans to build Turkey’s first nuclear power station. Rosatom said one law prevented the cutting down of olive trees on the proposed site. Another meant the shape of the seafront could not be altered to allow for construction of intake and outlet channels, and a third law prevented foreign producers of electricity from selling it. Akkuyu, near Mersin on the country’s southern Mediterranean coast, is to be built in cooperation with Rosatom under a contract signed in late 2010. The station will have four 1,200 MW VVER units and is scheduled to produce power by the end of 2022.