Russia is set to build a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan, following a state visit from President Vladimir Putin. Image source: Sergey Venyavsky, via Wikimedia Commons.
Russia and Uzbekistan have signed a contract to build the first nuclear power plant in Central Asia.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev confirmed the development plans on Monday 27 May during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin said Russia would contribute $400 million to a joint investment fund of 500 million USD ($752 million) to support projects in Uzbekistan.
Russian state-owned nuclear firm Rosatom will manage the project with involvement from local companies in the construction process.
Rosatom is slated to build up to six nuclear reactors with a capacity of 55 megawatts each in Uzbekistan’s eastern Jizzakh region, RIA Novosti reported.
The two nations previously agreed to a much larger-scale project in 2018, envisioning a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 2.4 gigawatts.
Rosam Director General Alexei Likhachev said there were still proposals for building a large nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan.
Likhachev also indicated Rosatom will begin construction “this summer”.
Though both Uzbekistan and neighbouring Kazakhstan are uranium producers, there are currently no nuclear power plants among the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia.
“Nearly all the leading countries of the world ensure their energy security and sustainable development with the help of nuclear energy,” said Mirziyoyev.
He also said Uzbekistan was interested in buying more oil and gas from Russia — this would invert a decades-long dynamic between the two nations where Russia imported hydrocarbons from Central Asia.
Uzbekistan has maintained ties with Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and relies economically on remittances from migrant workers in Russia.
Mirziyoyev said that Putin’s state visit to Tashkent “heralds the beginning of a new age in the comprehensive strategic partnership and alliance relations between our countries”.
It is the third foreign visit Putin has made since his inauguration for a fifth presidential term earlier in May.
