Russian President Vladimir Putin may visit Turkey next month on the occasion of the opening of the nuclear power plant in Akuyu (April 27), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday on Wednesday.

“Mr. Putin may come to Turkey for the inauguration ceremony. Otherwise, he may participate online in it,” the Turkish president said in an interview on Wednesday night with A Haber and ATV television networks.

Erdogan argued that the nuclear power plant in Akuyu is a vital investment for Turkey, since it will upgrade the country’s energy network.

According to the schedule, the first reactor at Akougiou will be commissioned this year and the project is not expected to be completed before 2025.

The construction of the first nuclear power plant in Turkey was agreed in 2010 with a subsidiary of the Russian state company Rosatom. The nuclear plant in the province of Mersin, on Turkey’s southern coast, will have four reactors with a total capacity of 4.8 GW.