JSC Rusatom Automated Control Systems (RASU), a subsidiary of Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, and JSC Akkuyu Nuklear on 17 September signed a contract for the supply of automated process control systems for four units of the Akkuyu nuclear plant under construction in Turkey.
JSC Akkuyu Nuclear, a subsidiary of JSC Rusatom Energo International (REIN), which is responsible for the construction of the Akkuyu plant, has been designated strategic investor for the project. REIN was established in 2011 by Rosatom to promote Russian nuclear technologies on the global market.
The contract, worth more than $700 million also involves arranging project financing. "This is the first such contract in the RASU portfolio, when the company is simultaneously the chief designer of the process control system and the system integrator, and must ensure not only the development and creation of automated process control systems, but also find the money for this," said Dmitry Kadykov, project manager of the project office at the Akkuyu plant.
The automated process control system will have more than 20 subsystems. Currently, negotiations are underway with a pool of potential suppliers and the initial requirements for procurement are being prepared. The final decision on suppliers will be made by a commission after carrying out two-stage competitive procedures. The main criterion of the first stage will be the technical characteristics of the proposed equipment, and for the second will be the possibility of attracting finance.
In December 2017, a contract was signed for development of the automated process control system (ACS) for the station, completion of which is expected by 30 September. Currently RASU has two main contracts developing the ACS on a turn-key basis. “Installation is not included, but we must also provide installation and supervision," noted Kadykov. The ACS must have two sets of protection: three channels for the security system and a diversion protection system.
The Akkuyu nuclear power plant project includes four power units with Russian generation 3 VVER-1200 reactors incorporating strict post-Fukushima safety standards. Earlier it was reported that Russian investments in the project would amount to $22 billion. Turkey is expecting Akkuyu 1 to begin operating in 2023. The plant is being built on a build-own-operate basis.
