Russia to start building first nuclear power plant in Turkey

Russia will start building Turkey's first nuclear power plant in 2013, at an estimated cost of $20 billion, Russian ambassador to Ankara Vladimir Ivanovsky said on Sunday, RIA Novosti reports.

"The launch of the plant's first power unit is planned for 2018, while the other three will be launched with intervals of one year. The fourth power unit will be put into operation in 2021 and the plant's reactors are designed to operate for 60 years. The project for the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant under Russian design is a strategic area of Russian-Turkish cooperation," the diplomat said.

Russia and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on the construction and operation of Turkey's first nuclear power plant during a visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Ankara on May 12, 2010.