Rosatom holds talks with Turkish CKK Group for Akkuyu partnership

Partnership talks between Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom and Cengiz-Kolin-Kalyon Group (CKK) on the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant are expected to reach the agreement stage by the end of the year, resulting in a 49 percent stake of the project being transferred to the Turkish CKK Group.

Anadolu Agency (AA) spoke with executives from Rosatom and the Turkish private sector who participated in the negotiation process, reporting that after Russia and Cengiz Holding began partnership talks, the Kolin and Kalyon companies were included in the possible partnership merge.

CKK executives met with Rosatom executive Kirill Komarov in Istanbul on Friday where they discussed principles for forming the basis of the possible partnership. If both parties reach an agreement regarding the details, a 49-percent stake of the project will be transferred to Turkish CKK while 51 percent of the shares will remain at Rosatom. The executives collectively agreed that partnership talks will reach the agreement phase by the end of 2016.

With regards to Russia's search for a Turkish partner, the first green light came from Cengiz Holding Chairman Mehmet Cengiz. Cengiz, who is credited with giving the green light to Russia in its search for a Turkish partner, made a statement last month indicating that negotiations were still ongoing and partnership talks with Rosatom on the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant are continuing.

Pointing out that this was not something that they could also handle on their own, Cengiz suggested that they could partner up with a few friendly companies once they reached an agreement with Russia by the end of the year.

In April 2016, Russian energy giant Rosatom decided to sell a 49 percent stake of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which was established by the company in Turkey, to local companies and enter a partnership. Later, Rosatom started the negotiation process with Cengiz Holding.

Shortly after the said meeting, it was reported that the CKK Group, which partnered up during negotiation talks with Rosatom, is likely to come together again in various projects in the coming period.

Turkey launched the construction of its first nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, located in the southern province of Mersin, in April 2015 in order to provide greater energy self-sufficiency. The $20 billion project will consist of four units able to generate 1,200 megawatts of power each. The power plant, which is being constructed by Russian state-run atomic energy corporation Rosatom, is expected to produce approximately 35 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year after its construction is completed, and its service life is expected to last 60 years. A second plant is planned to be built by a French-Japanese consortium in the northern Black Sea city of Sinop. Also, former Energy and Natural Resources Minister Ali R

ıza Alaboyun announced in October 2015 that the İğneada district in the northwestern province of Kırklareli is where the country's third nuclear power plant will be built.