Rosatom Sees Up to 40% Local Share of Work at Uzbekistan Nuclear Plant

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachev told journalists in Tashkent on October 23 that the state corporation sees scope for localising up to 40% of competencies in the nuclear power plant project in Uzbekistan's Jizzakh region. He said local contractors doing more of the work would make the project's economic model more efficient and strengthen its staffing stability.

The site is building two gigawatt-class VVER-1000 units and two small modular units based on the RITM-200 reactor, each with 55 MW capacity. Likhachev said no other place in the world is building two gigawatt units and two small reactors at the same time. Full-scale construction of the gigawatt units is planned to start in 2027. At full capacity, the station will generate 17.2 billion kWh of electricity a year.

Likhachev said Uzbekistan may not stop at four reactors and that Rosatom is ready to take an active part. He spoke at the "Central Asia — Atom-2050" event at the Tashkent branch of MEPhI. The same day, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received him, and the two discussed construction progress, staff training and a planned town for nuclear workers near the station.