Turkey hopes to start operating its first nuclear power plant before the end of the year, said the country's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar.
"We are currently in the testing phase of the first reactor. We want to complete the tests step by step and put the first reactor into operation by the end of 2026. Our goal is to start generating electricity by the end of 2026," he told the "Sabah" newspaper. "Work is also continuing on the remaining reactors. We plan to build a data center along with the third and fourth reactors. We are working on it," he added.
After Turkey signed an agreement with the Russian state corporation "Rosatom" in 2010, construction of the "Akkuyu" nuclear power plant began in 2017, with the goal of providing 10% of the country's electricity when fully operational.
Bayraktar added that Russia is also interested in participating in other nuclear projects in Turkey.