ROSATOM and AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC attended the Virtual Nuclear Power Plants Expo and Summit (NPPES) held June 1 -2 in Turkey. Held for the 8th time, this year’s event took place online because of the current restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at the opening of the event, Anton Dedusenko, deputy chairman of Board of Directors at AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC, said that the implementation of ROSATOM projects continued even amid the pandemic.
“I am proud to say that during the pandemic, our nuclear projects have continued as planned, and even more, these projects have contributed to smooth functioning, development and recovery of national economies. This contribution was made possible not least thanks to the ‘safety first’ principle as the cornerstone of the nuclear industry that implies resilience to external adverse impacts,” he said.
Dedusenko thanked their Turkish partners for their comprehensive support and underlined that the Akkuyu project was developing at a good pace thanks to the well-coordinated work of the ROSATOM team and active support from Turkey. ROSATOM and AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC held two online sessions as part of the summit’s business program.
Speakers from Rosatom Regional Center in Middle East and Northern Africa region, AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC, IC ICTAS INSAAT-TITAN2 Joint Venture (contractor of the project), international engineering company Assystem, JSC Rusatom Energy International (JSC REIN), as well as a representative of the Turkish company, Meteksan Defense Industry Inc. took part in the sessions.
Director for Construction and Production Organization at AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC, Denis Sezemin talked about the current status of the Akkuyu NPP project and its impact on the local economy: “Full-scale construction works are now underway at the construction areas of three Akkuyu NPP power units. Moreover, on the basis of a limited work permit, we have started foundation pit excavation works for the construction of Unit 4 facilities. At the moment, about 500 thousand cubic meters of soil have been excavated in this area. By the end of this year, we expect to obtain a construction license and to start the construction of a concrete foundation. However, the manufacturing of reinforcement products and embedded parts, which are necessary for reinforcing the Unit 4 foundation, is already underway. Akkuyu NPP project has become a powerful driver of the region's development; living here we are witnessing residential construction flourishing in the settlements near the NPP construction site. It is also important that Turkish industrial enterprises receive orders and develop new types of products. For example, previously we were purchasing A600 class steel reinforcement bars in Russia, but today those are produced by Turkish certified manufacturers in compliance with all relevant quality standards.”
Speakers from AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC and project’s contractor IC ICTAS INSAAT-TITAN2 Joint Venture gave detailed information about ROSATOM’s procurement system which is used to search and select companies participating in the project as well as the procurement procedure, works with the supply chain, procurement plans for the coming years, and practical examples of work with Turkish suppliers.
A representative of Meteksan Defense Industry Inc. narrated his successful experience in procurement and contracting as a project subcontractor. The report on the NPP construction’s inspection presented by a spokesperson of the Assystem company (an independent organization performing work on the technical control of the construction of the main facilities of the Akkuyu NPP) was also important. The sessions aroused great interest among the audience. Considering that the construction at the Akkuyu NPP is underway in three power units and the volume of purchases available to companies is on the rise, the audience's questions became more and more relevant.
The summit participants asked substantive questions about the current and future purchases of ROSATOM and the Akkuyu NPP project, paying special attention to the specifics of the documentation, technical requirements, company selection criteria and other specific issues of participation in tenders for the project. More than 600 NPPES delegates, representatives of Turkish and foreign suppliers and nuclear industry enterprises attended the sessions of ROSATOM and AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC.
Additionally, over 60 bilateral online B2B meetings were scheduled for representatives of Turkish and foreign companies with specialists from AKKUYU NUCLEAR and IC ICTAS INSAAT-TITAN2 Joint Venture procurement departments within the scope of the business program. ROSATOM and AKKUYU NUCLEAR JSC also participated in the exhibition with a virtual stand where ROSATOM’s advanced solutions in the field of energy and non-energy technologies were displayed. Visitors were also able to get information about the activities and international projects of ROSATOM via virtual chat with company representatives.
ROSATOM’s "Atoms for Humanity" documentary was also screened in the opening of the Summit and on the company’s virtual stand. This project shows how nuclear technologies transform people's lives and change their cities and regions for the better, using the example of human stories. The project reveals the full breadth of the opportunities of the peaceful atom in achieving the UN Sustainable Development goals, including clean and available energy, quality education, economic growth, scientific breakthroughs, and social responsibility. The Turkish version of the project, telling the story of a young Turkish couple, Burak and Canan Alatli, who are both engineers, was also displayed on the stand.