The headquarters for the construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) held its first meeting at the future construction site on 26 June, the press service of the Nuclear Energy Agency (Uzatom Agency) reported.

In the presence of the director of the Uzatom Agency Azim Akhmedkhadjayev, and first deputy director general of the Russian state corporation Rosatom Andrey Petrov, a protocol was signed to activate the contract for constructing of a six-block low-capacity nuclear power plant, originally signed on 27 May.

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The document was signed by Otabek Amanov, director of the Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) Construction Directorate under the Uzatom Agency, and Pavel Bezrukov, director of AtomStroyExport’s NPP construction projects in Central Asia.

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The delegation toured the site where infrastructure work for future SMRs will begin in the fall. Earlier, plans to start priority work in the summer were shared.

The team defined the priority tasks within the contract framework, which “will allow to start work at the construction site within regulatory deadlines to begin construction of the builders' camp and all necessary infrastructure”.

The delegation also met with Ergash Soliyev, hokim (governor) of the Jizzakh region.

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  • The contract for the construction of the SMRs was signed on 27 May between the NPP Construction Directorate and AtomStroyExport (an engineering division of Rosatom) during a visit to Tashkent by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
  • Additionally, a protocol was signed to amend the intergovernmental agreement on NPP construction cooperation in Uzbekistan dated 7 September 2018.
  • Rosatom will act as the general contractor, with Uzbekistan’s companies also involved in the construction.
  • Rosatom’s CEO Alexey Likhachev stated that the plant is planned to be commissioned “step-by-step, modularly” from 2029 to 2033, featuring RITM-200N pressurized water reactors (PWR) used in nuclear icebreakers.
  • The project will have a significant share of localization in Uzbekistan, he said. “Financing is from the Uzbek side, with no discussion of the state (Russian) loan,” he noted.
  • The first reactor of the small NPP is expected to be launched in five years. The project’s cost remains confidential and cannot be disclosed, Uzatom Agency commented. The facility will be located near lake Tuzkan in Farish district of the Jizzakh region, where a large NPP was initially considered.