Russia open to selling 49% stake in Türkiye’s Akkuyu NPP project

Russia may sell its 49% stake in the Akkuyu nuclear power plant (NPP) project, which it is implementing jointly with Türkiye, the press service of the state corporation Rosatom told the Russian newspaper Izvestia.

“Rosatom is open to discussing the participation of a potential investor or investors in the project and is taking a balanced approach to determining the optimal configuration, given the long-term nature of the partnership,” the corporation said. “Negotiations with potential investors continue, including with companies from the Republic of Türkiye. Any investor’s participation in the project will require approval from the Turkish side, as specified in the intergovernmental agreement.”

The existence of such talks was also confirmed by Türkiye’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Zafer Demircan, who told Izvestia: “There are some talks about it, but no concrete steps have been taken in this direction. There are only reflections. Everything will depend on the conditions.”

Rosatom first attempted to sell its 49% share in the Akkuyu project in 2018, when a consortium of Turkish companies — Cengiz Holding AS, Kolin Inşaat Turizm Sanayı ve Ticaret AS, and Kalyon Inşaat Sanayı ve Ticaret AS — had agreed to acquire the stake. However, the deal fell through after the sides failed to reach an agreement on commercial terms.

The Akkuyu NPP is being constructed on Türkiye’s southern coast in Mersin province. The project provides for the construction and commissioning of four power units equipped with Generation III+ VVER-1200 reactors. Each unit will have a capacity of 1,200 megawatts, bringing the plant’s total output to 4,800 megawatts.

By Tamilla Hasanova