Akkuyu

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced his intentions to advance regional development in Türkiye's south following the construction of the country's inaugural nuclear power plant in Mersin.

Counterterrorism police in Turkey have arrested an Islamic State group suspect who was working at a nuclear power plant being built in the country's south, local media reported Tuesday.

The Russian national had been working at the Akkuyu nuclear facility under false identity papers, the Ihlas News Agency and other media reported.

Turkish counterterrorism forces apprehended a Russian ISIL suspect who was working at a nuclear power plant being built in the country's south, local media reported on Feb. 13.

The Russian national had been working at the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Mersin under false identity papers, several reports noted.

The Akkuyu nuclear power plant that is being built in the southern province of Mersin, is giving a strong boost to the local economy, according to experts and a local business leader.

Since the start of the construction work, more than 500 new businesses have been registered with the Silifke Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Nurettin Kaynak, its president.

Türkiye aims to start generating electricity at its first nuclear power plant very soon and make the project fully operational by 2028 by commissioning one reactor per year, says the country's energy minister.

More than 150 primary school students have paid a visit to the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in the southern province of Mersin, as the officials have shared information about nuclear energy with the children during the field trip to the plant over several sessions.

Türkiye has realized its 60-year-old dream by delivering nuclear fuel to the country's first Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in the southern province of Mersin on April 27, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, explaining to the youth the long and difficult journey of becoming a country enjoying the world's leading nuclear energy technology.

A woman shows her child a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, 18 January 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE/ERDEM SAHIN

"We categorically reject such baseless claims regarding President Erdogan's health," Fahrettin Altun, President of the Communications Directorate under the Presidency, wrote on Wednesday night.

Türkiye has upgraded to the league of nuclear power countries with the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on April 27.

"Our country has been promoted to the league of nuclear power countries after a 60-year delay," Erdoğan said, addressing the Akkuyu NPP First Nuclear Fuel Delivery Ceremony.

The announcement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that nuclear fuel will be loaded into the first power unit of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant on April 27 this year should set the alarm bells ringing in the international community and Western allies in particular.