JSC “VO “Safety” (technical support organization of Rostechnadzor) continues to render required assistance in creating properly operating units of the Akkuyu NPP (Mersin Province, Turkey). On March 10, the foundation ceremony was held for the third power unit of the first Turkish nuclear power plant. The construction was launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Vladimir Tikhonov, Director General of JSC “VO “Safety“, said that in 2018 the Turkish Nuclear Regulatory Agency issued to JSC “VO “Safety” its certificate giving the right to conduct control of the manufacturing of products for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant. “Today we are working at 70 Russian and 18 foreign enterprises, as well as at 6 factories of the neighboring states that manufacture components for the power units under construction of the first Turkish NPP. More than 560 in-process inspections for the manufacture of long-lead equipment for power units No. 1,2 have been held. The equipment for the new third power unit will also be under the constant control of our specialists because the safety and durability of the nuclear power plant depend on the quality of the equipment,” said Vladimir Tikhonov.

Let us remind that AKKUYU NUCLEAR and JSC “VO “Safety” signed a contract for rendering expert and consultancy services during the construction of the Akkuyu NPP in 2015, and the contract is valid till 2024. The contract covers the following areas: review and analysis of working design documentation for production; review of the reactor installation technical design documentation; review of technical documentation for equipment supplied from third countries in order to determine the possibility of its application at the NPP; analysis of changes in working design documentation; review of and agreement upon Quality Plans for products; participation in checking the preparedness of enterprises to start manufacturing products; In-process control of products manufacturing; participation in product testing; acceptance inspections of manufactured products.

Information note JSC “VO “Safety” is the largest Russian and leading European expert organization in the field of quality control of equipment, safety assessment documentation review for nuclear and industrial facilities. Being a technical support organization (TSO) of the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia (Rostechnadzor), JSC “VO “Safety” contributes to the safe development of the nuclear power and industrial complex of the Russian Federation as well as to the assurance of nuclear and radiological safety of Russian design nuclear facilities constructed abroad. Experts and inspectors of JSC “VO “Safety” work at more than 700 domestic and foreign manufacturing companies producing hi-tech equipment. Today, the ongoing international projects include the following: construction of the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh, Akkuyu NPP in Turkey, El Dabaa NPP in Egypt, Bushehr-1 in Iran. By Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Joint Stock Company “VO “Safety” was included into the List of Strategic Enterprises and Strategic Joint Stock Companies.

Akkuyu NPP is the first nuclear power plant which is under construction in the Republic of Turkey. The project is implemented on the basis of an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the construction and operation of a nuclear power plant at the Akkuyu site in the Republic of Turkey, signed between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Turkey on 12 May 2010. Four power units Russian-designed VVER reactors of generation 3+ will be constructed under the scope of the project. The capacity of each NPP power unit will be 1200 MWt. The first power unit is planned to be commissioned by 2023, the next – by 2024, 2025, and 2026, respectively. The station is expected to generate about 35 billion kWh per year. The design lifetime of the NPP is 60 years, with the possibility of extension for another 20 years.