site.btaAkkuyu Nuclear Power Plant to Be "Game Changer" for Turkiye, Says World Nuclear Association Director General in Davos

World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y Leon said that construction of Turkiye’s first nuclear power plant at Akkuyu will be a "game changer" for the country. She made the remarks during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Turkiye’s Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkiye is expected to bring its first reactor online in 2026. A week earlier, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev visited the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to review construction progress.

According to Bilbao y Leon, commissioning the facility will place Turkiye at the forefront of electricity generation.

She said that with its first nuclear project Turkiye will become part of the global nuclear industry. According to her, the Akkuyu NPP also marks the start of a serious process of strengthening local manufacturing in the country, which means it will play an important role not only for the global nuclear industry, but also for manufacturers and industrial stakeholders.

She emphasized that, beyond Turkiye, the NPP will have a positive impact on the economies of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.

The World Nuclear Association Director General cited data from the report on the state of nuclear energy worldwide, which projects that by 2050 global nuclear power capacity will triple and exceed 1,400 gigawatts. Alongside current leaders such as China, the United States, France, Russia, and India, other countries planning projects of varying capacity are also expected to join their ranks.