Welding of the reactor pressure vessel cover for Unit 1 of the Akkuyu nuclear power station in Turkey has been completed Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.

The RPV Cover is being supplied by Rosatom subsidiary Atomenergomash, which is supplying reactor equipment for all four units planned for Akkuyu. Atomenergomash said the welding had taken 17 days.

In July the first major components, including the melt trap, arrived onsite at Akkuyu. The 150-tonne melt trap, also known as a core catcher, is a key feature of the passive safety system for the Russia-supplied VVER-1200 reactor.

The Akkuyu nuclear power station is being built near Mersin on Turkey’s southern Mediterranean coast for €20bn under an intergovernmental contract signed in 2010.

The station will have four Generation III+ 1,200-MW VVER units, with the first one expected to come online in 2023.

In March Rosatom announced that first concrete had been poured for the foundation slab at Unit 1.