Turkey's first planned nuclear power plant, Akkuyu, canhelp the country reduce
its balance of payment deficit by 10%, according to the project's CEO, quoted in
Turkish media on Friday.
"Only one Akkuyu project can basically reduce
the balance of payment deficit by 10%,"Fuad Akhundov,the chief executive
officer of Akkuyu NuclearJSC, was quoted as having told news agency Anadolu
Ajansi. "The biggest problem for Turkey is the balance of payment deficit, which
is over$40 billion, and this comes from energy," he added.
Under an
agreement, signed between Turkey and Russia in 2010, Akkuyu Nukleer will build
and operate a plant with four nuclear units of 1,200 megawatts (MW) each with
expected total annual power output of 35 billion kWh and a life cycle of 60
years, according to Akkuyu Nukleer.
Construction on the plant is
estimated to begin in 2016; it is expected to start operating by 2020 and become
fully operational by 2023.