Already last week, $5 billion was reportedly transferred to the Turkish subsidiary, Akkuyu Nuclear, and two more transfers of equal size are planned this and next week, according to Turkish sources with knowledge of the development.
Should cover 10 percent of the electricity requirement
The money will cover the costs of Akkuyu Nuclear for two years and reduce concerns that the Ukraine war will disrupt the gigantic energy investment in Turkey.
Russian Rosatom – which not only finances but will also own and operate the nuclear power plant that is about to be built – writes in a statement that it is money for the largest nuclear power project in the world right now. But they add that “the transactions are significantly smaller” than the information provided by the Turkish sources.
The nuclear power plant, with four reactors, is estimated to cost a total of 20 billion dollars to build and when it is put into operation – according to plan 2026 – will cover 10 percent of Turkey’s domestic electricity needs.
Rosatom not on sanctions list
The project is financed, among other things, by the Russian banks Sberbank and Sovcombank, both on the US and EU sanctions lists. But Rosatom is not sanctioned.
One of the Turkish sources describes the large transfers as a result of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s gratitude for his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s help in getting agreements on grain exports via the Black Sea in place.
Erdogan and Putin have scheduled another summit in Sochi, Russia, on August 5.