Photo: Uzbekistan Ministry of Energy press service
The government of Uzbekistan intends to build both a large nuclear power plant with a capacity of 2 GW and a small nuclear plant with a capacity of 110 MW on a single site in Jizzakh Region. The plan was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjayev during the Global Atomic Forum in Moscow, Spot.uz reported.
Khodjayev called the project unique, noting that it is being implemented jointly with Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom. According to him, the 525-hectare site will host two large reactors of 1,000 MW each and two smaller reactors of 55 MW each. This approach will provide both a stable 2.1 GW of base generation and flexible maneuverable capacity.
The deputy prime minister added that by 2035 the combined NPP is expected to generate more than 15 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
The plan to integrate large and small reactors at one location was confirmed by Azim Akhmedkhadzhayev, director of the Uzatom Agency. He stressed that Uzbekistan views small modular reactors (SMRs) as an important tool for progress.
“Uzbekistan is effectively a pioneer in the deployment of small modular reactors. We plan to develop them in an integrated way, alongside large reactors, thus building a broad school of expertise,” Akhmedkhadzhayev said.
He added that constructing SMRs would help decentralize power supply in remote parts of the country. These facilities, he said, also have a “green” future, supporting Uzbekistan’s decarbonization program by moving away from traditional power sources such as coal.
Akhmedkhadzhayev noted that this fall specialists will begin excavation work for the small nuclear plant in Jizzakh Region. “The president set the task of pouring the first concrete for the small modular reactor in March next year. We have reorganized and are moving toward that goal,” he said.
Work is being carried out in parallel with regulators in Uzbekistan and Russia to secure permits and licenses, as well as with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is monitoring the project for compliance with safety standards.
In June, it was reported that Rosatom had revised its plans for a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan in favor of building both a large and a small facility, each with two units. At the time, however, it was not specified that all the units would be located on a single site in Jizzakh Region.
Uzbekistan and Russia signed a cooperation agreement on nuclear energy, including construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant, in December 2017. The initial plan called for two reactors of 1,200 MW each, with the first unit scheduled to be commissioned in 2028 at a cost of $11 billion.
A new contract with Rosatom for the design, supply, and construction of a small nuclear power plant was signed on May 27, 2024, in Tashkent during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state visit. The SMR is planned to be built near Lake Tuzkan in Jizzakh Region’s Farish District. In March this year, it was announced that the first concrete for that facility is scheduled to be poured in the second quarter of 2026.
