Russia sells stake in Akkuyu nuclear plant project in Turkey

The stake was sold for an undisclosed sum to a consortium of energy companies Cengiz, Kolin and Kalyon. The investment agreement will be signed by the end of the year, reports said.

Rosatom would keep 51 percent of the nuclear plant in the deal, which the Russian state corporation called the biggest foreign investment into a Russian nuclear project abroad in 17 years.

Rosatom's deputy chief Kirill Komarov said the parties aim to "close this deal before the end of the year" after signing the term sheet Monday and gaining approval from shareholders and the Turkish government, Interfax reported.

Akkuyu is Turkey's first nuclear power station on the Mediterranean in the south of the country, part of the hydrocarbon-poor state's drive to attain greater energy self-sufficiency.

Rosatom began construction in April 2015 of the four-unit plant that had been estimated to cost about $20 billion. Its launch is scheduled for 2023 according to Komarov.