Russia’s Rosatom energy company is building Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. But construction has been delayed because of the nondelivery of German-made parts.
The Russian state-owned energy corporation Rosatom reportedly plans to sue a German manufacturer for not delivering equipment meant for the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in southern Turkey.
The plant would be the first of its kind in Turkey. It is also the largest energy project in Turkey’s history. On January 4, Rosatom boss Alexey Likhachev made serious accusations against the German supplier and referred to German industrial giant Siemens, even though he was actually talking about another company, Siemens Energy.
“We have noticed media reports about this, but we do not currently have a lawsuit,” Siemens Energy’s spokesperson Tim Proll-Gerwe told DW.
Siemens Energy was previously the energy technology division of Siemens, but in 2020 it became an independent company and was listed on the stock exchange. Siemens currently owns 17% of Siemens Energy.
Proll-Gerwe confirmed that Siemens Energy was supposed to supply gas-insulated equipment for the nuclear plant’s power distribution system, critical equipment needed to connect it to the Turkish power grid.
The contract to do so was signed with the Russian company Elektroavtomatika in 2020, two years before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to its website, the St. Petersburg-headquartered company is a regular Rosatom supplier.