Rosatom reportedly expects Uzbekistan to green light nuclear plant construction in near future

Russia’s Rosatom expects Uzbekistan to sign a contract for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant (NPP) in the near future, according to Gennady Sakharov, director of capital investments at the state corporation, as cited by TASS.

“Rosatom is ready to deploy the construction of the project as soon as possible. We expect this [signing] to happen in the near future," Sakharov was quoted as saying.

Some opponents of working with Russia in nuclear power have become very vocal lately. An adviser to Uzbekistan’s natural resources minister last week said that the idea of an NPP in the country was “disastrous” in general, but if a decision was made to build it, it should not be done with Russia’s involvement.

Sakharov also confirmed that the plan was to build two 1,200-MW NPP units.

Uzbekistan and Russia began negotiations on the NPP nuclear project in 2018.

The site chosen for the NPP is on the shore of Lake Tuzkan in the eastern Jizzakh region.

Construction would take around six years.

Since Uzbekistan is among the world’s top five uranium producers, the plant should have ready access to nuclear fuel.