September 8, 2023, Ankara, Türkiye. – Rosatom State Corporation and AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC (a company of Rosatom) were among the main partners of the 6th International Aviation, Aerospace and Technology Festival TEKNOFEST. Türkiye's largest technology exhibition took place from August 30 till September 3 in Ankara under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Türkiye. The event was attended by more than 1 million people.
AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC takes part in TEKNOFEST every year. This year the company prepared for the guests of the festival an interactive exhibition stand, where every visitor could for a while become an engineer of the first nuclear power plant in Türkiye and solve exciting creative tasks of a specially prepared nuclear-themed quest.
Firstly, stand visitors were receiving a hard hat and a vest, which are mandatory items for NPP engineers. Then, the quests were designing a makeshift nuclear power plant in a workshop. In the lecture hall area, the visitors were told about the construction of the first NPP in Türkiye, and the importance of nuclear energy for technological development of the country. Quest participants could test their agility, attentiveness, and physical fitness in an interactive playground. In the end of all tasks, the booth guests were to pass an exam on their knowledge of the nuclear field and take part in the project of AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC meant to protect a rare species of Caretta-Caretta turtles inhabiting Mersin region. Participants of the quest were received a pretend Akkuyu NPP engineer's license as well as memorable souvenirs depending on the stand locations passed. In total, more than 3,000 exhibition guests visited the stand of Akkuyu NPP project.
"Nuclear industry is a field of very enthusiastic specialists who are dedicated to their profession. Many of them decide to become a nuclear engineer at an early age, particularly if their parents work in the industry. We pay particular attention to the young generation; we regularly conduct Akkuyu NPP site tours for the children of our employees and hold lectures at schools. All that is part of a large-scale educational profession-guidance project for children. This year, we have done our best to make sure that children and teenagers from Ankara and other cities and provinces of Türkiye, who attend TEKNOFEST, would explore nuclear engineering, learn about the features of this wonderful and highly demanded profession, get interested in it, and possibly start working at the first nuclear power plant in Türkiye in future”, AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC Chief Executive Officer Anastasia Zoteeva noted.
During the exhibition AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC Deputy Construction Director of the NPP under Construction Dmitry Romanets gave interviews to the lead Turkish mass media outlets. He answered questions about Akkuyu NPP construction, safety measures being taken within the project as well as modern equipment and innovative technologies, which are used during construction of the first nuclear power plant in Türkiye.
125 organizations including large companies, governmental authorities and universities of Türkiye and other countries participated in the international festival. The festival also included a competition program of technological startups in 44 areas. The best projects were awarded with diplomas and valuable prizes.
For reference:
TEKNOFEST is an international festival of aerospace engineering and technologies. It has been held since 2018. TEKNOFEST 2023 is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye and is held in three stages in the three largest cities of the country - Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir.
Akkuyu NPP is the first-ever nuclear power plant in the Republic of Turkey. The Akkuyu NPP project includes four power units equipped with Generation 3+ VVER reactors of Russian design. The capacity of each NPP power unit will be 1200 MW.
Akkuyu NPP is the first project in the global nuclear industry being implemented according to the Build-Own-Operate model.
According to the terms and conditions of the Inter-Governmental Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey, the NPP's first power unit is supposed to be commissioned within 7 years after obtaining all construction authorizations. With regard to the construction license for Unit 1 was obtained in 2018, the deadline is 2025. At the same time, the project stakeholders are making their best efforts to ensure readiness for the commissioning works at Unit 1 in 2023, a jubilee year for the Republic of Turkey.
Russia continues a constructive dialogue with its foreign colleagues, developing cooperation with countries from all over the world and actively forming a multipolar system of international relations. The implementation of major foreign energy projects also continues. Rosatom and its enterprises are actively involved in this activity.