The installation of the second tier of the reactor building's internal containment has been completed at unit 1 of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under construction in Mersin province, southern Turkey. The inner containment is one of the critical components of unit's safety systems, which prevent the release of radioactive materials to the environment, said JSC Akkuyu Nuklear.

Turkey's state-owned EUAS International ICC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK's Rolls-Royce to evaluate the technical, economical and legal applicability of small modular reactors. In addition, they will consider the possibility of joint production of such reactors.

AEM Technology, part of Russia's Atomenergomash, has completed the welding together of the two halves of the reactor vessel for the first unit of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant which is under construction in Mersin province, in southern Turkey.

Turkish electricity transmissions system operator TEİAŞ and Russian-owned JSC Akkuyu Nuklear have signed a transmission grid connection agreement for the nuclear power plant under construction in Mersin province, in southern Turkey. The agreement means that full-scale work can start on creating a power distribution system for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which will include six high-voltage transmission lines.

Turkish regulator TAEK has granted Russian-owned JSC Akkuyu Nuklear a construction licence for unit 2 of the nuclear power plant under construction in Mersin province, in southern Turkey.

GE Steam Power is to continue providing full maintenance services on two turbine islands at the Cernavoda nuclear power plant in Romania under a newly announced USD120 million multi-year agreement with Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica. Meanwhile, work has begun at GE's Belfort site to manufacture the first Arabelle steam turbine for Turkey's Akkuyu nuclear power plant.
 

Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has announced completion of the basemat for the nuclear island buildings of unit 1 of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey. Meanwhile the European Parliament has voted to suspend EU accession negotiations with Turkey and has reportedly called for cancellation of the Akkuyu project.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan today attended via videolink from Ankara a ceremony to mark the pouring of first safety-related concrete for unit 1 of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. Putin arrived today for a two-day working visit to the Turkish capital.

Nuclear electricity generation capacity in the Middle East is expected to increase from 3.6 gigawatts this year to 14.1 GWe by 2028 thanks to new construction start-ups and recent agreements between Middle Eastern countries and nuclear vendors, the US Energy Information Administration said yesterday. The United Arab Emirates will lead near-term growth by installing 5.4 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2020, it said.

Turkey has formally launched construction of its first nuclear power plant with the pouring of concrete for the sub-base foundation of the nuclear island. A ceremony held at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant site to mark the launch on 10 December, followed the issuance of a limited construction permit.

GE Steam Power Systems has announced the signing of a contract to deliver the main equipment of the conventional island for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Büyükeceli, Turkey. The contract has been awarded to AAEM Turbine technology LLC, the Saint Petersburg, Russia-headquartered joint venture between Atomenergomash JSC and General Electric.

Construction of non-nuclear facilities at the site of the planned Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey can begin after the granting of a limited construction permit. A licence permitting full construction to start is expected to be issued in the first half of 2018.