The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is being built in the Gülnar district of Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast, about 140 km west of Mersin city centre. The plant consists of four VVER-1200 units, each with a capacity of 1,200 MWe. With a total installed capacity of 4,800 MWe, Akkuyu is Türkiye's first nuclear power plant and is being built under the build-own-operate model.
Where exactly is the plant?
According to the licensing information of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NDK), the site is in the Gülnar district of Mersin province, about 30 km south-east of Gülnar town centre and about 140 km west of the city of Mersin. Located on the coastline near Büyükeceli, the site has direct sea frontage; this location was chosen both for cooling water and for the arrival of heavy equipment by sea. The region's road connection is provided by the Mersin–Antalya coastal road (D400).
Under which model is the project carried out?
The intergovernmental agreement signed between Türkiye and the Russian Federation in 2010 provides for the plant to be built under the build-own-operate model. Akkuyu is the world's first nuclear power plant project carried out under this model. The owner and operator of the project is Akkuyu Nükleer A.Ş., majority-owned by Rosatom. The regulator at the time, TAEK, recognised the project company as the site licence holder in 2011; construction of Unit 1 began in April 2018. Once completed, the plant is expected to meet about 10 percent of Türkiye's electricity demand.
What is the status of the units?
All four units use the VVER-1200 reactor. The licensing and installation milestones of the units are shown below:
| Unit | Construction licence | Key milestone |
|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | 2 April 2018 | Reactor vessel installed in June 2021; commissioning permit 21 November 2023; loading rehearsal with 163 dummy fuel assemblies completed in June 2026 |
| Unit 2 | 26 August 2019 | Reactor vessel installed in September 2022; commissioning permit 18 March 2026 |
| Unit 3 | 13 November 2020 | Reactor vessel installation completed in January 2025 |
| Unit 4 | 28 October 2021 | Construction and main equipment deliveries ongoing |
The Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Enerji ve Tabii Kaynaklar Bakanlığı) aims for the first electricity from Unit 1 to be generated during 2026. Main equipment deliveries are also largely complete: the nuclear fuel for Unit 1 was brought to the site in April 2023, and in June 2026 the delivery of the four steam generators for Unit 4 was announced. First electricity, grid connection and commercial operation are separate stages; the process is described in the entry on the commissioning process.
How is the site reached from a logistics point of view?
- Eastern Cargo Terminal: The plant's own cargo pier, which since 2019 has served only vessels bringing cargo to Akkuyu. Heavy equipment such as the reactor vessel and steam generators arrives directly here; the 100th cargo vessel reached the terminal in February 2025.
- Port of Taşucu: The port in Silifke is the arrival point of RoRo sailings from Tuapse. Trucks are cleared through customs here and continue to the site by road (see Port of Taşucu).
- Port of Mersin: The region's main gateway for materials arriving from Europe and Asia as containers and breakbulk; from here the cargo is carried by road to the site further west.
- Road: Full trucks arriving from within Türkiye and via Georgia or Iran reach the site through the D400 connection; a separate security check is applied at the site entrance.
The flow from supplier to site is covered in detail in the entry on the Akkuyu supply chain.
How does Voltim Global help with this?
Voltim Global, headquartered in Mersin, the same province as the plant, has carried more than 450 shipments from Russia to Akkuyu since March 2024, most of them via the Tuapse–Taşucu RoRo line; the structure of the line is described on the Akkuyu supply line page.