Alexey Likhachev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Photo: press service of the President of Uzbekistan.
Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom has proposed creating not just a satellite town around Uzbekistan’s planned small modular nuclear power plant, but a full-fledged “nuclear cluster,” the company’s chief executive, Alexey Likhachev, said.
“We allowed ourselves a certain degree of innovation by proposing to Uzbekistan’s leadership the creation not simply of an auxiliary nuclear town, but of a nuclear cluster that would include not only nuclear power generation, but also nuclear medicine, radiological expertise for agriculture and healthcare, and materials science,” Likhachev said in an interview with the Russia-24 television channel. He added that the Kurchatov Institute, Russia’s leading nuclear research center, has been involved in the project.
According to Likhachev, the complex would also require its own digital industry, proprietary digital solutions, and a data processing center.
“In this way, we are talking not just about building a town for the operating organization, but about creating an entire innovative nuclear and scientific cluster, with a projected population of 20,000 to 30,000 people over the coming decades,” he said.
On January 27, Likhachev was received by Uzbekistan’s president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. During the meeting, the sides discussed construction of the nuclear power plant and other areas of cooperation in the nuclear sector. Likhachev assured the president that work is proceeding at a high pace and fully in line with the schedule.
“Work at the site is under way actively: in October 2025, excavation began for the first small-capacity power unit. The main task for this year is to move on to pouring concrete for the foundation slab of the nuclear island buildings. Given the importance of meeting deadlines, we aim to begin concrete preparation as early as this spring,” Likhachev said.
ℹ️ Uzbekistan and Russia signed an agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy, including the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant, in December 2017. At the time, plans called for launching the first $11 billion power unit in 2028, with the plant consisting of two units of 1,200 megawatts each.
Subsequently, it was decided to also build a small modular nuclear power plant, starting with that project. A new contract with Rosatom for the design, supply, and construction of the small plant was signed on May 27, 2024, in Tashkent during a state visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The facility is to be built near Lake Tuzkan in the Farish district of Jizzakh Region.
According to Likhachev, combining large-scale and small-capacity nuclear generation at a single site is unique. “Nothing like this exists anywhere in the world, and in this sense the Uzbek project will become a global showcase,” he said.
