Forest Fire Erupts near Turkey’s Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Construction Site

Istanbul, July 17 – The Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said that a forest fire broke out on Monday night in the Turkish province of Mersin in the south of the country, in a village located 40 kilometers from the construction site of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.

“The forest fire in Gulnar village in Mersin province is being extinguished non-stop by firefighters and helicopters capable of flying at night,” the agency said on Twitter, posting a video clip of a helicopter dropping water on a burning forest.

Gulnar village is located about 40 kilometers from the nuclear power plant construction site.

Anton Didosenko, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Akkuyu Nuclear Corporation, said earlier that the construction and installation work of Unit 1 of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant will be completed by the end of 2023.

Akkuyu NPP, which is being built with the participation of Russia, is the first nuclear power plant in Turkey. It is planned that after commissioning all four units, which will be equipped with advanced Russian VVER-1200 reactors, the plant will generate about 35 billion kilowatt-hours annually and cover up to 10% of Turkey’s electricity needs.