OREANDA-NEWS  The process of negotiations on the sale of a 49 percent stake in the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project continues with foreign companies, including Turkish ones, the press service of the Rosatom State Corporation told RIA Novosti.

"The possibility of selling a 49% stake in the Akkuyu NPP project is provided for by an intergovernmental agreement on the implementation of the project concluded in 2010. The negotiation process continues, and we are discussing opportunities with potential partners, including Turkish companies," the press service said.

p.m. "Under the terms of the same intergovernmental agreement, the selection of potential partners requires mandatory coordination with the Turkish side," Rosatom noted.

The implementation of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project in Turkey continues despite the turbulent times, Anton Dedusenko, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, said on Tuesday.

In March, specialists completed construction and installation work at the first power unit of the Akkuyu NPP. The commissioning of the first power unit of the Akkuyu NPP is expected within a year, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at the end of June.

Turkey considers the launch of the first power unit of the Akkuyu NPP under construction by Rosatom to be a priority, despite the interest of the leadership in Moscow in building a second nuclear power plant, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on March 2.

Akkuyu, the country's first nuclear power plant, is currently being built in Turkey with the participation of Russia. It consists of four power units with advanced Russian-designed VVER-1200 generation 3+ reactors. The capacity of each power unit will be 1,200 megawatts. The construction of the Akkuyu NPP is the first project in the global nuclear industry implemented using the Build-Own-Operate model.