Protocol Signed to Begin Work on Uzbekistan Nuclear Plant

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On September 10, Atomstroyexport, the engineering subdivision of Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation, and Uzbekistan’s Atomic Energy Agency signed a protocol on the commencement of works for the future low-power nuclear power plant (NPP) in Uzbekistan.

Pavel Bezrukov, Atomstroyexport’s Director for NPP Construction Projects in Central Asia, commented that according to the protocol, Atomstroyexport will begin the documentation process for obtaining the required licenses.

Otabek Amanov, Director of the NPP Construction Directorate at the Uzbek Atomic Energy Agency, added that the signing of the protocol “marks the transition to active work for implementation of the first low-power NPP project in Uzbekistan and will allow starting works at the construction site in the nearest future.”

Late in August, work began to construct a residential settlement for builders of the future NPP.

On May 27, Uzbekistan and Rosatom signed a contract to construct a 330 MW Russian-design low-power NPP in the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan (6 reactors of 55 MW each). Atomstroyexport JSC is the project’s general contractor.

As natural gas reserves deplete and production decreases in Uzbekistan, the country strives to build new power-generating facilities, with a focus on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power. The future nuclear plant, the first of its kind in Central Asia, is expected to help resolve the problem of Uzbekistan’s power shortages amid forecasts that the country’s demand for electricity will almost double by 2050.

Neighboring Kazakhstan will hold a nationwide referendum on October 6 on whether to build its first nuclear power plant. The Kazakh government insists that building a nuclear power plant will help solve the problem of electricity shortages by 2030.

Sergey Kwan

Sergey Kwan

Sergey Kwan has worked for The Times of Central Asia as a journalist, translator and editor since its foundation in March 1999. Prior to this, from 1996-1997, he worked as a translator at The Kyrgyzstan Chronicle, and from 1997-1999, as a translator at The Central Asian Post.
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Kwan studied at the Bishkek Polytechnic Institute from 1990-1994, before completing his training in print journalism in Denmark.

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