ANKARA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Akkuyu Nuclear Company announced Tuesday that it had received permission from Turkish authorities to commission the first power unit of the country's first nuclear power plant being built by Russia.
With the permission, the start-up, adjustment and operation processes, which are the final phase of the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, can be started, according to a statement from the company.
The next stage is to obtain a license to operate the first power unit, which will allow them to begin loading nuclear fuel into the reactor and begin pre-launch control operations, said the statement.
"Currently, Akkuyu nuclear specialists continue to develop technical documentation for applying for a license," said the statement.
The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, currently under construction in the southern Mersin Province, will be operational for 60 years, plus a possible 20-year extension.
In 2010, Türkiye and Russia reached a deal to let Russian state company Rosatom build and operate the Akkuyu plant, which is designed with four nuclear reactor units, each with a capacity to generate 1,200 MW of electricity.
The construction began in 2018 and is scheduled to complete in 2026. Once fully operational, the plant is expected to produce 35 billion kWh of electricity annually to meet approximately 10 percent of domestic electricity needs.
