Uzbekistan offers Russia ten sites for NPP construction

By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbekistan offered Russia ten sites across the country for the construction of a nuclear power plant (NPP).

This was stated by head of the department for strategic development of the Uzbek national company, Uzbekenergo, Eso Sadullayev, Podrobno.uz reported.

"So far, a specific site for the construction of nuclear power plants hasn’t been selected. We considered about ten different options. The main thing is to find the area where construction will be economically profitable from the point of view of electrical load. Now we are choosing a platform. There is no final decision yet, but we hope that this will be done in the near future,” he said.

The central part of the energy system (Tashkent region), the eastern part (Fergana Valley), and the Bukhara-Samarkand and Surkhandarya regions are among the sites under consideration. In all these regions, according to Sadullayev, there is a technical possibility for building the plant.

“We are now studying in detail all the parameters of the sites based on the availability of gas and electricity, railways and other communications. The decision will be made on the basis of minimum costs and the maximum demand for electricity,” he said.

As for the financing of the project, this issue is now being worked out with the Russian side, according to the Uzbekenergo representative.

“There is no final decision yet, but there is a scheme of coordinated actions with the Russian side. The approximate cost of the project of such stations is about $10 billion, the exact cost will be known after the signing of the contract. We are currently working on an agreement on the design, construction and operation of the station, including the involvement of IAEA specialists. The document will be signed as soon as it is ready,” he said.

Sadullayev went on to say that the construction itself will take about 5 years, another 2 years the station will be under the supervision of specialists from Rosatom and the IAEA.

He noted that the nuclear power plant will allow Uzbekistan to move away from strong dependence on hydrocarbon fuel, as well as provide cheap energy to the population and all sectors of the economy.

“We need this, as by 2030 the energy consumption in the republic is projected to grow two times compared with the current day,” the Uzbekenergo representative concluded.

Earlier, Moscow offered Uzbekistan to build a nuclear power plant with two new generation power units in the country. 

During the visit to Uzbekistan, Rosatom corporation’s head Alexei Likhachev announced that Rosatom is ready to build the most modern two-block nuclear power plant in this Central Asian country. 

“Our proposal is to build a station of two modern blocks of the “three plus” generation VVER-1200 here in Uzbekistan, at a time when the Uzbek side considers acceptable. We have very solid experience in the construction of such stations,” he said then.

A possible NPP project will have a huge national importance for Uzbekistan as it would allow diversifying Rosatom’s own energy complex and ensuring energy security of Uzbekistan, according to the director general.

The possible construction of nuclear power plants will create about 5,000-6,000 jobs, and 1,500-2000 jobs will be created during the operation of the station.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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