The Russian Rosatom said it had upscaled nuclear power plant projects for Uzbekistan. Now, both large and small-scale nuclear power plants will be erected in the country. This announcement was made by Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development following the bilateral working group meeting on the margins of the Tashkent International Investment Forum, Interfax said.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of Investments, Industry, and Trade Laziz Kudratov and Russia’s Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov,.
“Last year, the small-scale nuclear plant was launched. This year, the heads of state agreed to reshape the project to include a large-scale plant with two reactor units, as well as a small-scale plant, also with two units,” the ministry’s statement read.
At the end of April, Rosatom’s Director General Alexey Likhachev told reporters that the state corporation planned to lay the foundation for the small-scale plant in Uzbekistan within a year, or possibly even sooner. At that time, when asked about the prospects of building a larger plant, Likhachev noted that if Uzbekistan’s leadership approved the idea, Rosatom already had proposals prepared, not only regarding the technical design of the future facility, but also on financial models and approaches to maximum localization.
The Uzbekistan small-scale nuclear plant project is notable for being Rosatom’s first such export initiative. The two parties reached an agreement in the spring of last year, followed by the signing of a MoM in the fall, outlining project design and documentation work.
The plan includes the construction of six small modular reactors, each 55 MW capacity. Construction is expected to commence this summer, and the plant will be commissioned in phases between 2029 and 2033.
Reportedly, Uzbekistan will fully finance the project; the possibility of a Russian loan has not been discussed.
