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.

The process of loading the 163 fuel assemblies into the core of unit 1 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant in western Russia began on 8 December, state nuclear corporation Rosatom announced. The VVER-1200 unit is scheduled to start up next year.

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachov and Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker today signed notices to proceed with contracts for the construction of four VVER-1200 units at the El Dabaa nuclear power plant.

Russian regulator Rostechnadzor has issued operating licences for two new nuclear power units, Leningrad Phase II-1 and Rostov-4, Rosenergoatom said today. The nuclear power plant operator subsidiary of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Rosenergoatom said the licences "confirm the readiness of the units for physical launch - fuel loading - in December".

The reactor vessel for unit 1 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant was installed yesterday, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has announced. The installation work at the plant, which is in Sosnovy Bor in western Russia, used 'open top' technology, which "allows equipment to be inserted into the sealed area directly through the open top of the cylindrical part of the reactor building", Rosatom said.

The operator of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant in Russia has demonstrated a commitment to safety and is taking many improvement initiatives, an Operational Safety Review Team team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded.

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.

Russia's Rosatom has signed a memorandum of understanding with Brazilian companies Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras (Eletrobras) and Eletrobras Termonuclear SA (Eletronuclear) to promote cooperation in nuclear power. It includes the possible construction of a new nuclear power plant in Brazil, Rosatom said.

Russia is to assist the Philippines in developing national policies for the development of nuclear energy through a memorandum of cooperation signed on 13 November. The cooperation will include feasibility studies on the construction of small modular reactors.

The reactor vessel for unit 2 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant was delivered to the construction site in Sosnovy Bor in western Russia yesterday. The cargo was delivered from the Izhorskiye Zavody manufacturing plant within ten days, according to a statement today by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Excavation work has started at the site of unit 2 of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran, Atomproekt, the reactor design subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, announced today. Construction and installation work formally started on the unit in March.

Ships carrying cargo to support "the world's first" floating nuclear power plant have arrived at the port of Pevek, in the Chukotka district of Russia, Rosenergoatom announced today. Rosenergoatom, the nuclear power plant operator subsidiary of Rosatom, also said the floating plant Akademik Lomonosov will be towed to Murmansk in May, be loaded with fuel in October and commissioned in November next year.