Foundation of the turbine for Unit 4 of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkey completed

Recently, Unit 4 of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkey reached a key construction milestone, with the concrete pouring of the foundation slab of the turbine building declared successfully completed. This continuous pouring operation lasted more than one day, with a cumulative use of more than 2,240 cubic meters of high-quality concrete, and more than 308 tons of high-strength rebar properly installed within the foundation pit prior to construction, demonstrating stringent civil engineering construction standards.

According to engineering specifications, the foundation structure is expected to require a curing period of approximately 60 days to fully reach its design strength. Before the formal commencement of the installation procedures for the core components of the turbine generator set, the Turkish Nuclear Regulatory Authority will conduct a comprehensive on-site inspection and compliance acceptance signing procedure for the foundation slab to ensure that all indicators are flawless.

Sergei Butckikh, Chief Executive Officer of Akkuyu Nuclear Company, stated that this is the fourth turbine foundation construction undertaken by the Akkuyu nuclear project. The long-term operational reliability of the turbine generator set begins with the foundation construction; this structure not only needs to bear the enormous gravity of the turbine and generator themselves, but also must efficiently offset the complex dynamic loads generated during their high-speed operation. The project effectively reduces the transmission of vibration to the turbine building structure through special spring assemblies, ensuring long-term safe and stable operation of the equipment.

Located in Mersin Province in southern Turkey, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is the first nuclear power plant in the country's history, with construction being comprehensively advanced by the Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) under the Build-Own-Operate model. According to the intergovernmental agreement signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey in 2010, the project has a planned installed capacity of 4,800 MW, aimed at comprehensively meeting Turkey's growing domestic electricity demand.

As the first unit of the project, Unit 1 successfully received its first batch of nuclear fuel in April 2023 and is targeted to be officially connected to the grid and supply electricity to the Turkish power grid before the end of 2026; Unit 4 completed its first concrete pouring in July 2022. Once all four VVER-1200 reactor units are completed and put into operation, the nuclear power base is expected to meet approximately 10% of Turkey's national electricity demand, becoming an important pillar of the country's low-carbon energy transition.