Rosatom Targets 2026 Start for Turkey’s Akkuyu Reactor as Armenian Plant Life-Extension Work Advances

Overview

• Likhachev said Rosatom plans both the physical and grid startup of Akkuyu’s first VVER-1200 unit in 2026.
• He described disrupted payment systems, a refusal by some suppliers including Siemens to deliver paid equipment, and about $2 billion in frozen funds that forced import substitution and alternative financing.
• Turkey’s first nuclear plant is being built under a Build-Own-Operate model with four Generation III+ VVER-1200 units rated at around 1,200 MW each.
• Rosatom reported completing the 2025 work program at Armenia’s Metsamor unit 2 under the PSE‑2 project and assessed nonreplaceable equipment as operable through September 1, 2026.
• Safety upgrades at Metsamor include reconfiguring the reactor’s emergency core cooling system and launching metal property tests, with evaluations due in November 2026 to support Armenia’s process for a potential extension to 2036.