Construction of the protective shell of the first block of the Akkuyu NPP is being completed in Turkey

ANKARA, 18 Oct – PRIME. The installation of the containment shell of unit No. 1 of the Akkuyu NPP is being completed in Turkey, the next stage is the closing of the reactor dome, the project company Akkuyu Nuclear reports.

“In the reactor building of the first power unit of the Akkuyu NPP, an operation was carried out to install the sixth tier of the internal containment (IEC), which is one of the main elements of the nuclear power plant’s safety system. The subsequent installation of the dome, which the builders plan to complete by the end of 2022, will complete the formation of the reactor hall Unit 1,” the statement said.

It is noted that the inner containment provides protection for the reactor compartment and is a support for pipeline penetrations and a polar crane, which performs maintenance of a nuclear reactor at the stage of NPP operation. The VZO consists of steel cladding, which ensures the tightness of the reactor compartment, and special concrete.

The sixth tier of the VZO is a metal structure consisting of 30 blocks. The total mass of the tier is 224 tons, the diameter is 44 meters. Installation of the structure at the Akkuyu NPP construction site was carried out using a Liebherr LR 13000 heavy crawler crane. It took eight hours to install the longline. After installation, the height of the reactor building of the first block increased by 8.4 meters and reached 51.5 meters.

“Today is an important event. After the installation of the sixth tier, only the dome of the reactor building remains to be installed. The installation operation was performed flawlessly: our builders, installers, slingers, construction crane operators once again confirmed the highest level of their professional skills. Install a multi-ton structure with a tolerance of 1 centimeter “We coped with it, and this once again demonstrates the highest professionalism of the Akkuyu NPP team,” said Anastasia Zoteeva, Director General of Akkuyu Nuclear.

Until the end of 2022, it is planned to install the containment dome at the first power unit and start commissioning – the beginning of the strait on the reactor vessel and the commissioning of the polar crane.

Construction and installation work at the Akkuyu NPP site is being carried out at all sections of the construction of the main and auxiliary facilities: four power units, coastal hydraulic structures, power distribution system, administrative buildings, training center, physical protection facilities of the future NPP.

Akkuyu is the first project in the global nuclear industry implemented according to the “build-own-operate” model. The construction cost is about 20 billion dollars. The Akkuyu project meets all modern international safety requirements in the nuclear power industry.

Until recently, Titan 2 IC Ictas Insaat Anonim Sirketi, founded in May 2019, a Russian-Turkish joint venture between the Russian JSC Concern Titan-2 and the Turkish construction company IC Ictas Insaat Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS In July 2019, the design company Akkuyu Nuclear JSC and Titan 2 IC Ictas Insaat Anonim Sirketi signed an agreement for the design, supply of equipment and construction of Akkuyu NPP facilities (EPC contract). Since that time, the main construction work at the Akkuyu NPP site has been carried out by the joint venture.

According to Rosatom, during the execution of the EPC contract, IC Ictas Insaat Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS committed numerous violations that affected the quality and timing of the work. Under the circumstances, the project management decided to terminate the contract with IC Ictas Insaat Sanayi Ve Ticaret AS. It was reported that after its withdrawal from the project participants, Akkuyu Nuclear signed a contract with the Turkish company TSM Enerji İnşaat Sanayi Limited Şirketi (TSM).