The Akkuyu NPP will be built near the town of Mersin, upon Russian-Turkish agreement and will consist of four VVER-1200 reactor power units. The athletes of Mersin’s professional handball team had a tour over the Public Information Center of the plant in order to learn more about prospects of nuclear energy in the town and in the country.
Rosatom’s information centers abroad are meant to educate the population of its partner-countries in the sphere of atomic energy, popularize science and scientific knowledge. They are modern space-designed cinema-theaters, where, with the help of multimedia programs, interactive quizzes and virtual tours, the guests get acquainted with the world of nuclear energy.
The team led by their coach Osman Ozoglu was welcomed by the PIC Director Faruk Uzel and other center’s personnel. Using pictograms, experimental models and modern means of visualization, the center’s specialists told their guests about the Akkuyu project, its safety systems, its significance for economic development of Turkey.
“The construction of the first Turkish nuclear power plant is a big investment project for the province of Mersin and for the whole country. A village of Buyukedzheli (the nearest one to the site), where the population is 1500 people, will become a modern town with all corresponding infrastructure. The NPP will influence the region’s economy on the whole and give a new impulse for economic growth both to the province of Mersin and to the whole country. During its construction and operation stages tens of thousands of jobs will be created”- he noted. The sportsmen were told that Turkey is the second country in the world, after China, in growth of the demand for electric power. “The territory of the Republic of Turkey in not rich in hydrocarbons and has to export them, which, in its turn, produces a negative effect on the trade balance of the state. The Government stimulates projects with renewable energy sources (RES), and at the same time the task is set to diversify the energy system of the country using the environmentally safe sources – NPP”- Karuk Uzel noted.
After the tour the athletes asked questions and got exhaustive answers form the PIC employees. The coach thanked for information and for the tour, noticing that nuclear energy was necessary for Turkey’s dynamic development. “The Akkyuy NPP actively interacts with the province’s population and with Turkey on the whole. Today we’ve seen that peaceful atom will serve the cause of all our country”- said Osman Ozoglu.
Handball is one of popular sports in Turkey, the third one after football and basketball. The Mersin handball team was formed in 2005. Today it plays in Turkey’s first league, sixth among 14. From 2006 to 2009 the team took part in the Europa League, in 2008 – won the Cup of Turkey for Handball. From 20 players of the team 5 represent Macedonia, Russia, Croatia and Ukraine.
