Turkey discusses two new nuclear power plants with four countries

Canada, China, Russia and South Korea are being considered as partners for the projects, Daily Sabah reports. No decisions have been made on sites or contractors yet, and the country's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, according to Rosatom head Alexey Likhachev, is expected to achieve its first chain reaction by the end of 2026.

The gist in brief

• The new plants are planned in Sinop (Black Sea) and in Thrace, with negotiations underway with Canada, China, Russia and South Korea.
• The capacity, cost and timelines of the new nuclear power plants have not been disclosed.
• The first Akkuyu reactor is expected to achieve a self-sustaining chain reaction by the end of 2026.
• The Akkuyu project is estimated at $20 billion: four reactors with a total capacity of 4,800 MW; once all units are commissioned, the plant will cover about 10% of Turkey's electricity demand.

What is known about the new plants

Ankara plans to build two more nuclear power plants. One will be in Sinop, the other in the Thrace region in the northwest of the country. Negotiations are ongoing with four countries: Canada, China, Russia and South Korea. The capacity and cost of the plants, as well as the construction timelines, were not disclosed in the report.

What about Akkuyu

The country's first nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, in Mersin province on the Mediterranean coast, is being built by Rosatom. Likhachev said on October 16 that the first reactor is expected to achieve a self-sustaining chain reaction by the end of 2026. This is the physical startup stage: the reactor is operating, but electricity is not yet being supplied to the grid.

The project costs about $20 billion. The four reactors have a total capacity of 4,800 MW, and once all units reach their design capacity, the plant is expected to cover about 10% of Turkey's electricity demand.

Why this matters for the country

Turkey is mainly dependent on gas imports: last year it consumed about 59 billion cubic meters. Over the past two years, the country has signed long-term liquefied gas supply contracts with major global producers. Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar discussed LNG cooperation with Novatek in Moscow, but Turkey does not yet have a long-term contract with that company.

What this means for Kazakhstan

For Kazakhstan, Akkuyu is interesting because reactors of the same type, VVER-1200, will be built at Balkhash. The contract for the Balkhash nuclear power plant was signed on September 3: two reactors with a total capacity of 2.4 GW, a cost of $16.4 billion, of which 85% will be covered by a Russian export loan. In August, Bayraktar said that test power generation at Akkuyu could begin before the end of 2026, while the launch had been postponed from 2023. The first VVER-1200 reactor in Bangladesh reached its minimum controlled power level in October. Kazakhstan's preparations for its first plant in Astana were reviewed by IAEA experts.

Interest in new plants is also growing in other countries of the region. Mirziyoyev announced that the authorities are considering the construction of a second and third nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan. Armenia is negotiating a new plant with five countries at once.

Author's conclusion

Turkey's plans for new nuclear power plants are still at the negotiation stage: the sites have been named, but there is no contractor, capacity or timeline. It is also notable that even the first plant remains an open question: the Akkuyu launch date has been postponed more than once. Whether the country will reach two new plants depends on how the Akkuyu launch goes and which partner offers the best terms.