Russia's Rosatom seeks to sell 49% stake in Turkey's first nuclear plant
Russian nuclear giant Rosatom is negotiating the sale of a 49% stake in Turkey's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant project, estimated at $25 billion, Bloomberg reported on July 1.
The project is a cornerstone of Russian-Turkish energy cooperation. The Akkuyu plant, located in Mersin Province, is poised to become Turkey's first nuclear power facility.
The 4.8-gigawatt project is expected to begin supplying electricity in 2026, Anton Dedusenko, chairman of the board at Rosatom's Turkish subsidiary, told Bloomberg.
"The closer we are to the first unit generating electricity, the more investors start coming," Dedusenko said on the sidelines of the Nuclear Power Plants Expo & Summit in Istanbul.
A previous sale attempt in 2018 collapsed over commercial disagreements. This time, financing is complicated by the threat of U.S. sanctions, prompting Moscow and Ankara to consider alternative payment mechanisms.
"There are many ways how to deliver money here. We can deliver the Russian rubles, the Turkish lira," Dedusenko said.
Despite its NATO membership, Turkey has maintained open diplomatic and economic ties with Russia throughout the full-scale war against Ukraine, while continuing to supply aid to Kyiv and host international mediation efforts.
Daria Shulzhenko
