Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that some Turkish companies are ready to buy a stake in the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which Russia is building on Türkiye’s Mediterranean coast in Mersin province, and that Moscow would welcome it.
Putin made the remarks in Moscow on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit, according to the Turkish financial news service Foreks and the Russian agency Interfax, as reported by TRT World and Harici.
About $25 billion, all Russian money
Putin put the cost of the project at about $25 billion and said it had been financed entirely by Russia, Foreks reported. He said the plant is built under a build-own-operate model, meaning Russia owns the plant and will run it, and that the work in Türkiye is nearing completion.
He did not name any Turkish company, and he gave no stake size or deal value.
Up to 49% can be sold
The plant belongs to Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which also finances it. TRT World noted that Rosatom can sell up to 49% of the project to a partner. According to Harici, the 2010 intergovernmental agreement between Türkiye and Russia already allows such a share transfer, and Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev said in spring 2026 that talks with several Turkish companies on equity participation were under way.
Akkuyu will have four Russian-designed VVER-1200 reactors of 1,200 megawatts each. Construction began in 2018, and TRT World said the first unit is now expected to reach its first self-sustaining chain reaction before the end of the year.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has said that Türkiye aims to load the first nuclear fuel within weeks, with power reaching the grid from 2027, as we reported in our story on Akkuyu’s first fuel loading.
More on Mersin
Residents and property buyers on the Mersin coast can read more about the region in our guide to living in Mersin.
Sources
- Putin: Akkuyu Nükleer Santrali’ne 25 milyar dolar yatırdık, Türk şirketleri hisse almak istiyor (Foreks)
- Turkish investors ready to buy stake in $25B Akkuyu nuclear plant: Putin (TRT World)
- Putin açıkladı: Türk şirketleri Akkuyu’dan hisse almaya hazır (Harici)
Photo: Rosatom Digital Press Office/АО «Аккую Нуклеар» / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
