OREANDA-NEWS.  The conference “Nuclear Energy Development Summit 2013: Eastern Europe, Turkey and Middle East” was held in Istanbul.  The presently implemented and planned nuclear power generation projects in Turkey and the neighbouring countries became the matter of discussion. The opportunities of atoms for peace, the difficulties arising from the project implementations and the ways to overcome them were discussed; the financial issues and technical achievements in the sphere of nuclear industry were also dwelt upon. Politicians and acknowledged experts of the nuclear industry from Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Jordan, Italy, UAE, Romania, the USA and Turkey took part in the event.

Deputy Minister of Energy and natural Resources of the Republic of Turkey Murat Merjan in his report emphasized the fact that the first NPP in Turkey is being built within the frame of cooperation with Russia according to the inter-governmental agreement signed on the 12th of May, 2010. "The Turkish Ministry of Energy cooperates directly with Russian specialists. The activity of “AKKUYU NPP” Company within the framework of the nuclear power plant construction project is carried out in collaboration with the Turkish state authorities. The first NPP in Mersin will be put into operation in accordance with the scheduled dates", – Merjan declared. In his speech he noted that the legal infrastructure of the nuclear industry had not yet been definitely formed in the Republic of Turkey at the moment. The official institutions are diligently cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concerning this issue. Murat Merjan emphasized the importance of awareness-raising work among the people and the transparency of the Project Company for the public. The officer drew attention to the fact that nuclear power generation should be considered as a long-term prospective – the route chart of the Turkish nuclear industry will expand significantly within the neat 10 years.

Secretary of State for Industry, Energy and Investment of National Development Ministry of Hungary Pal Kovach stated in his speech at the conference: "Nuclear power generation means responsibility in the first place. I should note with satisfaction that Turkey has already made all the necessary preparations. The infrastructure of the country is ready for the implementation of modern nuclear power engineering technologies". Kovach noted that the history of cooperation between Hungary and Russia in the sphere of nuclear power generation extended back over about 50 years of close and productive collaboration. According to Kovach due to this cooperation Hungary got the opportunity to develop its own nuclear technologies and moreover brought them to the international market. The participants of the conference learnt that the Hungarian NPP “Paksh” built by a Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation "Rosatom" had successfully passed all EU stress tests and received the highest safety rating. At the moment preparations are under way to implement the project for increasing the capacity and working lifespan of the station.

Lead Technical and Licensing Coordinator of “AKKUYU” NPP Dmitry Pokidyshev also addressed the participants of the forum. He made a presentation describing the status of the project for the first Turkish nuclear power plant construction and the possibilities for the foreign companies to participate in its implementation. The participants of the forum learnt from his report that the controlling interest (51%) within the framework of “AKKUYU” NPP project would remain the property of the Project Company and the foreign investors  can count on 49%. Pokidyshev noted that the nuclear power plant in Mersin would annually generate electric power to the extent of more than 35 bln. kWh. Now “AKKUYU” NPP is negotiating with the Turkish Electricity Trading Company (TETAS) about the adjustment of purchase prices per kW. "We are planning to round off the negotiations on this issue in 2014" - concluded Primary Coordinator for Licensing of the Project Company. Besides Pokidyshev noted that due to the nuclear power plant construction 15,000 of new jobs would appear in Mersin thus having positive influence on the development of the whole country aside from the region.